James Rice - A Medieval Irish Pilgrim

 As this blog is not only about my personal experiences of walking the Camino  de Santiago but also about it's history and connections with Ireland, I was interested to hear from my friend Branden Bettger, about the Rice Tomb in Waterford Cathedral, which he has studied academically.

Apparently it is the only surviving medieval tomb in Ireland with an image of St James the Elder on it, where the donor actually went on pilgrimage to Santiago. This makes the tomb of enormous historical and cultural significance for Irish pilgrims and I have asked Branden to tell us more:

 

 

Guest Blog on James Rice and St James

Branden Bettger

I was recently asked by Michael to write a guest blog on fifteenth century Irish pilgrimage to Compostela and the association of pilgrimage with portrayals of St James the Elder on tombs, for whom Santiago de Compostela is named. I recently completed an MPhil thesis at University College Cork, Ireland titled ‘Death and Marian Devotion in Late Medieval Ireland’, in which I explored how the textual and visual representations of Mary on Irish tombs dating from ca.1400-1527 can be used to gain a greater understanding of the devotional lives and religious beliefs of the laity. In my studies, I came across some interesting portrayals of St James the Elder that display recognition of pilgrimage. One particularly significant portrayal is that found on the tomb of James Rice in Waterford.
 

The tomb of James Rice (d.1488) and his wife Katherina Brown was originally located in a chantry chapel dedicated to St James the Elder and St Catherine of Alexandria, which James Rice had constructed in 1482 off the north side of the medieval Waterford Cathedral, demolished in 1773. The tomb is now located in Christ Church Cathedral Waterford, completed in 1779. Upon first sight of the tomb, it is instantly recognizable as a transi tomb, as the effigy on the lid of the tomb is that of a decomposed corpse, most likely representative of James Rice himself. 

Overall view of Rice Tomb
http://gothicpast.com/items/show/2145

At the head end of the tomb, is the image of the Virgin and Child flanked by the figures of Margaret of Antioch and Catherine of Alexandria, who commonly appeared together in art of fifteenth-century Europe and can been seen in a similar arrangement on the fragments of a tomb in the grounds of New Abbey, a Franciscan friary at Kilcullen, Co. Kildare. The Rice tomb is surrounded by images of the twelve Apostles on the sides, identified as follows from the left to right of the spectator. On the south side, there are the Apostles Matthias, Jude (Judas Thaddeus), Simon, Matthew, Bartholomew, and Philip. On the north side, there are the Apostles James Minor, Thomas, John, James Major, Andrew and Peter. At the foot end of the tomb, opposite the Virgin and Child is a Throne of Grace style image of the Trinity, bordered by Edward the Confessor and Patrick on either side.

Image of Virgin, Margaret and Catherine
http://www.gothicpast.com/items/show/2156

Image of Trinity, Patrick and Edward
http://www.gothicpast.com/items/show/2124

 A well-cut black-letter inscription around the lid of the tomb reads as follows:

‘Here lies James Rice, formerly a citizen of this city and founder of this chapel, and Katherina Brown, his wife. You who stand here consider that what I am you will be, I was what you are, I beg you pray for me that when it is your fate to pass through the gate of death, our Christ who has come to redeem the lost lest the redeemed be damned, will have pity.’

‘HIC JACENT JACOBUS RICE, QUONDAM CIVIS ISTIUS CIVITATIS ET

FUNDATOR [ISTI]US CAP[ELLE ET KATERINA BROUN UXOR] EJUS

QUISQUIS ERIS, QUI TRANSIERIS STA PERLE[GENDA] PLORA SUM

QUOD ERIS, FUI QUOD ES PRO ME PRECOR ORA EST NOSTRA SORTIS

[TRANSIRE] PE[R OSTEA] MORTIS, NOSTRE CRISTE TE PETIMUS

MISERERE QUAESUMUS QUI VINISTI REDIMERE PERDITOS, NOLI

DAMNARE REDEMPTOS.’

            James Rice was mayor of Waterford eleven times between 1467 and 1486, and personally made two pilgrimages to Compostela during his time as mayor. The first pilgrimage was in 1473 and the second in 1483. He constructed his tomb in 1482 perhaps in part because of his planned pilgrimage the following year. The pilgrimage journey from Ireland could be very dangerous and typically involved a lengthy crossing by ship along with travel on land in areas that could be wrought with bandits. By constructing his tomb before his second pilgrimage, James Rice was not only ensuring he would have a respectable place of burial if he died, but also that he would receive prayer and masses on his behalf before, during and after his pilgrimage.

            The chantry chapel in which the Rice tomb was constructed, was essentially a private room dedicated for prayer to the Trinity and saints on behalf of James Rice, Katherina Brown, and their other family members. The display of Apostles and/or other saints on tomb surrounds rather than standard weepers, as in France and England, was a unique feature of Irish tombs during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, and could have been practiced in Ireland as early as the fourteenth century. The use of the Apostles on the sides of tombs in place of other saints or weepers was not common anywhere else in northern continental Europe or Britain until the sixteenth century.

The figures portrayed on the sides of the tomb functioned in part as symbolic intercessors that guided the viewer in the direction of their prayers for James Rice and his family. For example, the Apostles were associated with the Apostles’ Creed prayer, and in some legends were said to have each contributed a verse to the prayer in the same order as displayed on the Rice tomb, with the exception of Paul when read in reverse order. The medieval order of the Apostles is as follows: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon, Thaddeus, and Matthias. In essence, the images and the inscription on the tomb functioned like a three-dimensional prayer book that could be circumnavigated by the viewer.

The image of St James the Elder on the side of the tomb likely held special significance to James Rice, not only because St James was his namesake but also because he named his chapel after St James and felt compelled to travel to Compostela twice. Unfortunately, the image of St James is one of the most badly damaged on the tomb. During the late 15^th and early 16^th centuries, St James was commonly portrayed with a cockleshell and pouch, which if there is no longer clearly visible. However, his recognizable staff is still clearly visible. The hat is another common feature of representations of St James, but the hat on this figure is not as flamboyant as some other portrayals. It is possible that some of the wear seen on the image could be the result of devotion displayed toward to the image through touching the figure during prayer, a practice that can still be seen in some churches today.

Image of St James the Elder
http://www.gothicpast.com/items/show/2217

 

Christ Church Cathedral in Waterford is very much worth a visit to see this incredible tomb alone, which is a fine example of how the beliefs and experiences of an individual lay person were portrayed on a tomb that has been preserved for well over 500 years. While in Waterford, don’t miss the Medieval Museum. It holds some incredibly amazing and unique artifacts from the late medieval Ireland. Why not plan your own pilgrimage to Waterford soon?

For additional information see:

 

Hunt, John, Irish Medieval Figure Sculpture: 1200-1600: A Study of Irish Tombs with

Notes on Costume and Armour, 2 vols. (Dublin, 1974).

 

McEneaney, Eamonn, A History of Waterford and Its Mayors: From the 12th Century to

the 20th Century (Waterford, 1995).

 

McEneaney, Eamonn, ‘Politics and the Art of Devotion in Late Fifteenth-Century

Waterford’, in Rachel Moss, Colmán Ó Clabaigh and Salvador Ryan (eds), Art and

Devotion in Late Medieval Ireland (Dublin, 2006).

 

McEneaney, Eamonn, ‘The Art of Devotion’, Irish Arts Review 21 (2004), 112-115.

 

McEneaney, Eamonn, ‘The Waterford Madonna Lactans’, Irish Arts Review 25 (2008),

144.

 

McEneaney, Eamonn and Rosemary Ryan (eds), Waterford Treasures (Waterford,

2004).

 

Moss, Rachel, ‘Permanent Expressions of Piety: The Secular and the Sacred in Later

Medieval Stone Sculpture’, in Rachel Moss, Colmán Ó Clabaigh and Salvador Ryan

(eds), Art and Devotion in Late Medieval Ireland (Dublin, 2006).

 

Ó Riain-Raedel, Dagmar, ‘The Irish Medieval Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela’,

History Ireland 6 (1998), 17-21.

 

Rae, Edwin C., ‘The Rice Monument in Waterford Cathedral’, Proceedings of the Royal

Irish Academy 69 (1970), 1-14.

The Saint's Road

On the Dingle Peninsula in Co. Kerry is an ancient Irish Pilgrim path called The Saint's Road or Cosan na Naomh in Irish. The Dingle Peninsula is an extraordinary place where the last vestiges of Western Europe clash with the vast expanse of the Atlantic in a final showdown of spray and rocky islands. There is an almost vertiginous feeling about the place; a heightened awareness of the turning of the Earth or the curve of the horizon.

The path meanders it's way across this rugged and breathtaking landscape making its way from sparkling sea to windswept mountaintop, along it's length dotted with Neolithic monuments, Early Irish Monastic sites and Medieval Romanesque Church remains.

Like the Camino, the path has pagan origins; in all probability the pre-Christian Irish worshipped the Celtic god Lugh on top of Mount Brandon which was also originally associated with another pagan deity Crom Dubh who Lugh would symbolically triumph over at the festival of Lughnasa - celebrated at the significant seasonal cross day half way between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox.

By the latter part of the 1st Millennium AD however St Brendan the Navigator had supposedly banished Crom Dubh from the mountain and Cosan na Naomh had become an important Irish pilgrimage. Pilgrims would arrive by sea either at Dingle Harbour or the beach at Ventry and then walk to the summit of Mount Brandon, stopping off at the various sites of spiritual significance along the way. In later centuries this evolved into a Roman Catholic festival or "Pattern" known locally as Crom Dubh Day, when pilgrims would walk from Cloghane to the summit of Mount Brandon on the last Sunday in July - the same day that pilgrims ascend another Irish pilgrim mountain, Croagh Patrick in Co.Mayo and very close to St James's Day on the 25th July.

Mount Brandon

In Natasha and Peter Murtagh's book Buen Camino! (see Additional Reading page) Peter Murtagh recounts how he climbed Croagh Patrick and then took a scallop shell (a traditional symbol of St James) from an eroded Mesolithic site on the shore of Clew Bay and tied it to his rucksack when he walked the Camino. I thought this had nice symbolism - taking something on the Camino from an early Irish pilgrim trail and since my American friend Eric Kruschke and I had walked the Saint's Road in 2009 and published a book on our experiences (again see additional reading), I felt it would be fun to take a scallop shell from Ventry strand on my next Camino walk in March.

When I started the Camino last September I bought a small purple scallop shell in St Jean Pied de Port. Its looking a bit chipped and battered after bouncing around on the outside of my rucksack, but I've got rather fond of it, so I will keep that on my rucksack, but my work colleague Patricia Morrisroe, who has a holiday home at Ventry has also given me another scallop shell from Ventry which I will also take it this time when I walk in March.

I love it's weather beaten appearance; encrusted with Barnacles and Serpulid worm tubes, I can imagine it lying in the shallow sandy water off Ventry amongst the kelp, its covering of algae gently waving in the shifting currents. I know its many centuries since pilgrims last splashed ashore at Ventry but the scallop shell seems an appropriate encrustation on my own rucksack!





Buen Camino!

It's New Year's Eve; it's been quite a year - with high points like the Camino in September and a yet a major valley where conversely I have rarely felt God more present.

I'm still reading Buen Camino! by Natasha & Peter Murtagh and apart from enjoying their descriptions of some of the places that I have been myself, like Puente La Reina and Estella, I particularly liked this meditation by a Jesuit Jose Antonio Garcia Monje which Peter Murtagh picked up in the church of St. Stephen in Zalbadica. I think it sums up the Camino experience:

 

"The journey makes you a pilgrim. Because the way to Santiago is not only a track to be walked in order to get somewhere, nor is it a test to reach any reward. El Camino de Santiago is a parable and a reality at once because it is done both within and outside in the specific time that [it] takes to walk each stage and long the entire life if only you allow the Camino to get into you and to make [you] a pilgrim.

 

 

The Camino makes you simpler, because the lighter the backpack, the less strain to your back and the more you will experience how little you need to be alive.

 

 

The Camino makes you brother / sister. Whatever you have you must be ready to share because even if you started on your own, you will meet companions. The Camino breeds community: community that greets the other, that takes interest in how the walk is going for the other, that takes and shares with the other.

 

 

The Camino demands of you. You must get up even before the sun in spite of tiredness or blisters; you must walk in the darkness of the night while dawn is growing; you must just get the rest that will keep you going.

 

The Camino calls you to contemplate, to be amazed, to welcome, to interiorise, to stop, to be quiet, to listen, to admire, to bless...Nature, our companions on the journey, our own selves, God.

Bordeaux Wine

Over the Christmas holidays I have decided to use some of my free time to read Natasha & Peter Murtagh's book Buen Camino! kindly lent to me by my friends Richard & Pamela Wood who attend St Senan's church in Iniscarra.

Today I have also been enjoying a few glasses of a 2010 bottle of Saint - Emilion Grand Cru wine from Bordeaux donated by a patient. Deep & rich with a fruity aroma of cherries it has pleasingly assisted the remnants of my turkey and ham to digest!

There is in fact a connection with the Camino and my choice in wine, for as Peter Murtagh's points out, in the 11th & 12th centuries, Irish pilgrims often made the arduous journey to Galicia via empty wine ships returning to Bordeaux.

I raise a toast of my Bordeaux wine to those intrepid Medieval Irish pilgrims who braved life and limb to go on pilgrimage!

The Valley of Baka

Psalm 84:5-7 NIVUK

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion".

I love these verses because they remind me that even if we have to travel through hard places spiritually, emotionally or physically, (one translation of Baka is weeping) if our hearts are set on following after God, they can be turned into places of blessing, refreshment and personal growth.

Camino Day 4: Pamplona - Cizur Menor (12/09/14)

When we first planned out walk we had decided to walk for three days from St Jean to Pamplona, have a day off on Day 4 to do sightseeing in the city and then have two final days walking from Pamplona to Estella. The next morning therefore, we had the luxury of a “lie-in”. The albergue had to be vacated by 9am, but since we didn’t intend walking anywhere we rolled over in our bunks snoozing while the other pilgrims got up at 6 and packed. However I soon found as I lay there, that I really wanted to keep walking and had in fact an urge to get up and join the other pilgrims. Anyway I reasoned, we had seen a lot of Pamplona the previous day.  I decided to get up and try and persuade Matt and Ben to change plan and undertake a small walk. Matt was happy to do some walking, but Ben was unsure because of his toes, however he admitted that when he had gone on the bus the previous day, he had not really enjoyed it and felt he was missing out on the fun of walking the Camino. Matt and I therefore persuaded him that we would take a small walk out of the city for a few kilometres to Cizur Menor.




Early morning sunlight sets the towers of San Saturnino on fire

Once we had decided to walk it was amazing how excited and motivated we felt! I met Brendan in the bathroom looking very worse for wear and staring in the mirror with bloodshot eyes – apparently he had enjoyed the party in Pamplona the night before in true Irish style!

Ben & Matt outside Pamplona City Hall

We left just before 9am – long after all the other pilgrims had departed and the albergue dormitories were already deserted. Making our way past the City Hall and San Saturnino, the towers of which were glowing in the rising sun, we decided to turn off  the main route and cutting across Plaza San Francisco, found down a side street a fabulous Patisserie where we had a decadent breakfast of hot chocolates and pastries.

Breakfast!

Once fortified with our entire calorie intake for the day we exited the city to the southwest, passing the great 16^th Century fortress, the Cuidadela, which was completed in 1571 and is now a city park; people were out jogging and walking their dogs in the morning sunshine below the fortress’s rather intimidating walls.

Old & New: Apartment blocks behind the Cuidadela

After a while we reached the University of Navarre and walked through the grounds to the reception where we obtained very nice navy blue scallop shell sellos for our credencials. The very august and manicured surroundings of the university seemed to be slightly diminished by the very electronic tinny sound of the clock tower playing the Westminster clock chime at 11am over a loudspeaker. I was reminded of a Casio wrist watch from Argos I had in the early 1980s that I was very proud of and which had a very similar sounding alarm!

At the University of Navarre

The city ring road was beyond the university and the heat was rising uncomfortably as we climbed out of the city to the suburban hill top village of Cizur Menor. We checked into the private Albergue of Maribel Roncal when it opened at midday and although we had only walked for 1 hour and 10 minutes we were very sweaty due to the heat and were glad to have a shower and wash our clothes. The albergue had a nice garden with a pool containing terrapins and the dormitories and laundry facilities were in separate buildings from the main house where the owners lived and which was clearly of some antiquity.

Door of Albergue Maribel Roncal

After a rest, Ben and I explored the village; on the highest point, appropriately enough for the chief angel with his fantastic name, is the church of San Miguel. This was closed but further down the hill is a very interesting Romanesque church belonging to the Order of St John of Jerusalem. Originally the Knights of St John had a small fortress or Commandery on this elevated site overlooking Pamplona and a pilgrim hospice dedicated to Our Lady of Forgiveness. Only the chapel and one tower of the fortress now remains, but the cross of St John flies proudly over the tower and the Knights of St John still run an albergue here where we obtained another sello.

Albanian patriot at San Miguel

Iglesia San Juan & Knights of Malta Albergue

Chi Rho symbol above doorway of Iglesia San Juan

Knights of St John flags inside Iglesia San Juan

By this time it was 2:30pm so we collected Matt and got the bus (Number 1) back into Pamplona for more sightseeing. En route we met a very pleasant Basque student who spoke excellent English and amongst other subjects told us how to pronounce “hello” or kaixo in Basque (kay-sho) and agreed that she thought we were a bit mad to be walking the Camino (who could disagree with her?). She told us where to get off the bus and then walk straight down a wide boulevard and across a roundabout to get to the old city (this detail is important later!). We called in at the tiny church of St Ignacio were older people were silently adoring the Eucharist below a delicately ornate stucco dome reminiscent of filigree icing in a wedding cake.

Iglesia San Ignacio

Once back in the city we found we were working up a fierce appetite as they say in Co.Cork so we made for the nearest Pintxos bar and indulged in more delights and had the odd glass of downable red wine! We wandered around town for a while and persuaded Ben that he could still walk with us if he bought some good walking boots and socks. We found an excellent hiking shop on Calle Mayor and after much persuasion Ben bought some excellent boots and socks that were reduced in a sale.

More pintxos!

Pamplona salami shop

It was then time for dessert so we made our way to the wonderfully atmospheric Art Deco Cafe Iruna in Plaza del Castillo and then as evening approached we walked up to the El Redin Bastion on the city walls to a point known as The Corner of the White Horse. From there we could look down across the layers of the city’s 16^th Century fortifications, designed to cover the whole area outside the city in fields of cannon fire, towards Puente de la Magdalena where I had entered the city. The bastion was a popular meeting point for young couples who were walking hand in hand, kissing, or enjoying drinks at a 16^th Century townhouse that had been converted into a bar and here we drank a beer and watched the passing crowds.

Café Iruna

El Redin Bastion

We walked along the walls behind the cathedral and then back to Plaza del Castillo where instead of the previous night’s Basque band, a Brazilian Acante group (Brazilian martial arts set to tribal music) were limbering up watched by families out for their evening walk.



Brazilian Acante Group

It started to get dark so we made our way back up the straight boulevard to the roundabout where Matt and Ben inexplicably (from my point of view) turned right, while watching me continue walking straight ahead, with the result that I had got the bus home and had started into my veal steak on the pilgrim menu with a glass of red wine after a first course of garlic soup,  when the two walked in 45 minutes after me.  There were a few warm words and a forthright exchange of views expressed but we will draw a veil over them to maintain the happy tone of this blog....!

Camino Day 3: Larrasoana - Pamplona (11/09/14)

The walk to Pamplona from Larrasoana the next morning was relatively short; 4 hours and 10 minutes and fairly easy after the last two days and yet I found it quite tiring, especially as my knees and quads were still feeling the punishment of the descent to Roncesvalles!

In the morning I had an espresso coffee and an indeterminate kind of bread/cake object out of the albergue dispensing machines and chatted to Keith from Colorado and the South Africans I had a beer with in Roncesvalles. One of the nice features of walking the Camino is the camaraderie that develops as you meet people at one place and then bump into them again further down the path at another albergue or cafe and catch up with them once more and exchange your experiences.

I left the albergue and walked up to Ben and Matt’s Pension; Ben was taking the bus to Pamplona and was sitting outside the Pension on the verandah, looking sorry for himself with his bandaged toes sticking out of open-toed flip-flops. He and Matt had spent the night sharing a room with an American lady in her 50’s and a man from Northern England.

Matt and I set off and re-crossed the bridge at Larrasoana and followed a delightful wooded path along the side of the rio Arga. At Irotz we had a proper breakfast in a Basque cafe and then walked on to Zalbadica where Matt went on ahead and I stopped to talk to Keith again about Podiatric issues as he was sitting with his boots off and inserting some customised orthotics he had made in the U.S. He was having trouble with pains around the first metatarsal areas due to problems associated excessive pronation – but this blog is not really the place to talk about such Podiatric matters as I was attempting get away from all that kind of thing, although I was having problems doing so, as of course lots of my fellow pilgrims seemed to have foot problems!

Matt in Irotz

Eventually I was left in solitude and as I walked found myself singing the words of the 1980’s Christian chorus “Jesus take me as I am, I can come no other way, take me deeper into you, let my flesh life melt away...”.

Gradually the rural scenery began to give way to the outer suburbs of Pamplona; the surface of the path “improved” and became tarmac and as we approached the city I was able to look down on a busy dual carriageway noisy with lorries and cars which ran through a cutting in the hill below me. Basque nationalist graffiti was a constant theme on walls and bridges as we walked along the Camino and the tarmac made an excellent surface to reinforce these proclamations in English to the passing pilgrim!

The grating modernity of the suburbs of Pamplona after 3 days of walking through the countryside was softened by my arrival at Trinidad de Arre. A medieval bridge with six arches spans the rio Ulzama leading to a Basilica Church behind which is a convent which provides accommodation for pilgrims. There has been a pilgrim hospital on this site since the 11^th Century. Near the bridge are the remains of an ancient fulling mill and the river spills over a series of rocky outcrops. Before crossing the bridge I spent a few minutes talking to three middle-aged Irish ladies from Bray and then sat for a few minutes inside the Basilica (a rather nice sello for my credencial was also obtained here!).

Puente de Arre

Puente de Arre & remains of Fulling Mill

Beyond the bridge the suburbs of Pamplona began in earnest and I found myself walking through Villava. Matt texted me to warn me that it was hard to find signs for the Camino in Villava and so to be vigilant. However I found the yellow Camino arrows numerous and easy to follow and later on as I drew closer to Pamplona city centre, these gave way to very picturesque bronze scallop shells sunk in the pavement every few metres and so I found following the Camino into the city personally very easy.

Unfortunately by the time I reached Villava, I was desperate to visit the toilet, but because I didn’t want to leave my rucksack unattended I texted Matt and asked if he would wait for me ahead at a cafe. Matt replied that he was waiting by a roundabout with a bell monument near the Policia Municipal. I kept walking but still could not see either? I continued walking passing some fine Art Nouveau buildings and followed the shells on the pavement through the suburb of Burlada, but still no sign of Matt! Finally I realised that I was nearly in the city centre and texted Matt to say I could see the cathedral up ahead.

I had reached the Romanesque 12^th Century bridge of Puente de la Magdalena which crosses the rio Arga into the city. In front of it is a medieval stone cross with a statue of St James as a pilgrim and as I crossed I imagined the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who had tramped across the same bridge over the centuries. From there path crossed a busy road and then I found myself walking uphill between the impressively high walls of the city’s complex 16^th Century fortifications. Clearly the Renaissance Spanish state had laid out a vast sum of money to strengthen Pamplona and ensure that it was not captured by any French incursions from across it’s northern frontier. It was also clear to me that all traffic entering the old city would have been very effectively monitored and controlled as it moved through the gates and barbicans.

I finally entered the old city just before midday, through the Portal de Zumalacarregi which is also called the Portal de Francia and made my way to the Jesus y Maria albergue. This is a large Baroque Jesuit church which was been converted to take pilgrims with two levels of bunk cubicles with accommodation for 114 pilgrims having been created in the side aisles. Excellent showering and laundry facilities were also available and there were even computers available to check emails. All for the princely sum of €8!

Portal de Zumalacarregi

Matt arrived and was annoyed. It turned out that he had taken a different route into the city centre from Villava; along the side of the rio Arga which is why I never found him. He suspected I had deliberately texted him to ask him to wait so that I could beat him to the albergue! However he calmed down when I explained that I hadn’t realised there was another route into the city centre and that I had just followed the arrows and shells! Ben soon rejoined us fresh from his bus trip and the American lady from his Pension, who had also taken the bus also arrived shortly afterwards!

Jesus y Maria

The nave of Jesus y Maria with back of bunk cubicles in side aisles

After showers and laundry chores, we were ready to explore Pamplona by 2:30pm.  Pamplona has a long and proud history. According to Lozano it was allegedly founded by the Roman general Pompey the Great in about 75 B.C. after whom it was named. It had become an Episcopal See and a centre of evangelism by the 6^th Century and really started to flourish under King Sancho III (1000 – 1035) who was a keen developer of the Santiago pilgrimage route. Sancho created two burgos de francos – San Nicolas and San Cernin. These were walled areas within the city where foreign artisans and merchants (francos) who were often former pilgrims, could settle drawn by the special financial privileges and concessions granted to the burgos by the Crown. However these privileges aroused the anger and envy of the original inhabitants of Pamplona who lived in the La Navarreria district of the city and endless heavily armed conflicts often broke out between the different fortified parts of the city turning it into a battleground. Strangely though, the city continued to prosper and and the burgos began to cooperate after King Carlos III unified them in 1423. Eventually in the 16^thCentury the three separate districts were amalgamated behind the city walls we see today.

Pamplona Cathedral

The gothic nave of Pamplona cathedral

The three of us made our way first to Pamplona Cathedral which is in the heart of the La Navarreria district near our albergue. The facade of the cathedral is an 18^th Century Neo-Classical construction designed by Ventura Rodriguez. It came as a surprise to me therefore to step inside and find a wonderful 15^th Century Gothic church with three aisles and a polygonal apse and numerous side chapels shimmering with gold from their retables. Kings of Navarre were crowned in the cathedral and in front of the high altar is the marvellous alabaster tomb of Carlos III El Noble and his queen Leonor of Trastamar. The 15^th Century work of French sculptor Jean de Lomme from Tournai, I particularly liked the intricately carved hooded monks around the base of the tomb.

Tomb of Carlos III & Leonor of Trastamar

Making our way underneath an extraordinary 16^th Century helicoidal staircase we reached the 14^th Century cloisters where a tinkling fountain provided a soothing background to the delicate tracery of fine stonework and the intricate stone vaulting in the Barbazana Chapel. The main church is re-entered from the cloisters through the Puerta Preciosa; a splendid 14^th Century French Gothic doorway which contains a carving of the death of the Virgin Mary. A very interesting archaeological exhibition showcasing the Roman and early Christian origins of the cathedral site completed our tour and left even me with my insatiable quest for historical facts feeling exhausted and in need of food!

Helicoidal staircase

Puerta Preciosa

Barbazana Chapel

We were beginning to feel very hungry and thirsty and therefore a bit bad tempered, so we made our way to a Pintxos Bar. Pintxos is Basque for tapas (in the Basque language tx is pronounced the same as the English ch sound and when the x is without the t, it is pronounced the same as the sh sound). To describe a Pintxos bar in Pamplona to the uninitiated is to describe one of the wonders of the world! Imagine walking into a bar with every conceivable snack-sized savoury delicacy ranged in display cabinets before you; delectable types of seafood, roasted and stuffed vegetables, mouth-watering salamis and hams; all presented in artistic and colourful ways on plates with crusty breads. Now imagine a glass of white or red Spanish wine with them and sitting eating these delights at a street side table while watching the Pamplona inhabitants go about their business. A recipe for a very agreeable hour!

Pintxos

The three of us were ravenous and gorged on two rounds of Pintxos and as the barman had misunderstood our order and brought me two glasses of the most delightful white wine...well what could I do? It would have been a shame to waste it! Afterwards we wandered around the narrow streets of the city, and admired the buildings, some of which were bedecked with Basque flags. I was entranced with the beauty of Pamplona.

When the churches re-opened later in the afternoon, we went on a credencial hunt. First we went to San Saturnino. From the outside the church’s two distinctive towers give it a fortress like appearance reminding us that these city centre churches did in fact also double as fortresses during days of the fighting between the Burgos.

San Saturnino

St Saturnino (or Cernin as he is also called) was Bishop of Toulouse in the middle of the 3^rd Century and visited Pamplona and converted some locals to Christianity, baptising them in a well, the position of which is still marked on the road outside the church. Upon returning to Toulouse he was arrested, charged with preaching false oracles and martyred by being tied by his feet to a bull’s tail and dragged down the steps of the Roman Capitol. This is supposed to be the origin of the bull run which is held in Pamplona every year in July and which is started by the bells tolling on the Gallico tower of the church. The church itself is late 13^th Century gothic, but I found the layout rather disorientating when I stepped inside as there is an enormous Baroque 18^th Century Chapel of our Lady built on the site of the cloisters and it was so big that at first I presumed that I was looking at the high altar.

Dome of Lady Chapel

We asked an elderly gentleman who was busy tidying up if we could get a sello for our credencials and he turned out to be one of the priests. He was very helpful and welcoming and ushered us behind the scenes into a Baroque sacristy and after he had stamped our credencials, he showed us 400 year old vestments and other interesting items and we were touched by his kindness. We moved on to San Nicolas, another fortress-like church with characteristic Navarrese tombs covered with slabs of chestnut and finished our credencial hunt at San Lorenzo.

Baroque Sacristy


Vestments cupboard

The fortress-like San Nicolas

Pleased with our sello collection we walked to Plaza del Castillo; the main square in Pamplona and were delighted to find a Basque band playing in the bandstand whilst an impromptu group of onlookers had started traditional Basque folk dancing. Anyone was welcome to join in, so we did; Matt attempted a kind of waltz type dance with a very patient elderly lady much to my and Ben’s amusement and I had a go at a circular dance with very poor timing on my part! Everyone was good natured and laughed benignly at our attempts!

Basque band in Plaza del Castillo



Basque couple dancing

We finished the evening with a pilgrim menu meal and as the curfew for returning to the albergue was at 11.00, we were just making our way back and were astounded to see that the streets had suddenly become jam-packed with people. It seemed as if the whole city was just coming alive and getting ready to party, but we left the crowds to it and went to bed after a very full day!