Historia Compostelana
The Historia Compostelana (fully titled in Latin: De rebus gestis D. Didaci Gelmirez, primi Compostellani Archiepiscopi[1]) is a historical chronicle by several authors based on the relation of events by a writer in the immediate circle of Diego Gelmírez,[2] second bishop (1100–1120) then first archbishop (1120–1140) of Compostela, one of the major figures of the Middle Ages in Galicia.[3] The narrative of the Historia Compostelana spans the years 1100 – 1139, the years of Gelmírez' tenure, in three books. Its twofold central agenda is to extol the Archbishop's doings, while establishing the foundation and rights of Santiago de Compostela, including its founding legend, which provided apostolic connections with Saint James the Great. The bishopric had been transferred from Iria Flavia to Compostela as recently as 1095.
"Aragonese deliver the castle to the queen. Oh!!, How much military glory gave to Galicians that day when the Aragonese king escaped in front of them!. But much was more excellent and cheerful when the brave forces of Galicia protected Castile and its knights from attack by enemies and forced to take back the Castle occupied by the Aragonese. Oh shame!!, the Castilians need foreign forces and are protected by the audacity of the Galicians!. What will happen with these cowardly knights when the Galicia's armies -their shield and protection- leave?."
Historia Compostellana, Book I, Chapter 90
From a Galician perspective, the Historia recounts the reigns of the contemporary sovereigns of Castile: Alfonso VI (until 1109), Urraca (1109–1126) and Alfonso VII (from 1126). "A very complex work of multiple authorship, it must be used with care, for it is essentially an episcopal gesta of Diego Gelmírez, bishop and then archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, and very partisan in its commentary," is the assessment of the major historian of this period, Bernard F. Reilly.[4]
In the context of Hispanic historiography in Latin, it is unique for narrating contemporary events, utilizing documents inserted in the text, giving it great historical value.
Historical Account pre-1100
The Historia contains an account of the translation of the body of St. James to Galicia in the first century CE in its opening chapter. It says that the body was brought to the forest of Libredón, near the river Sar, and buried by several disciples in a marble tomb. [5] The account goes on to claim that Christianity was then lost in Spain for a period and restored before the Muslim conquest of Spain.
The tomb was lost until the bishop Theodemir in the ninth century, when God sought to "change the fortune of the Church" by revealing its location. The second chapter of Book I describes its discovery and the confirmation of the relics by Alfonso II, before beginning an ecclesiastical history of Compostela until the episcopacy of Diego Peláez.
Notes
- The manuscript transmission: B.F. Reilly, "Existing Manuscripts of the Historia Compostelana: Notes toward a Critical Edition," Manuscripta, 15 (1971), 131-152; D. MacKenzie, "A Manuscript of the Historia Compostelana," Manuscripta 18 (1974), 173-174.
- A.G. Biggs, Diego Gelmírez: first archbishop of Compostela Catholic Universities of America Press), 1949.
- B.F. Reilly, "The Historia Compostelana: The Genesis and Composition of a Twelfth-Century Spanish Gesta" Speculum: A Journal of Mediaeval Studies, 1969.
- Bernard F. Reilly, "The Kingdom of León-Castilla under Queen Urraca"
- Suarez, Manuel. La Historia Compostelana, chapter 1
Further reading
- Reilly, Bernard F. "The 'Historia Compostelana: The Genesis and Composition of a Twelfth-Century Spanish 'Gesta," in Speculum 44 (1969): pp 78–85
- Vones, Ludwig, Die 'Historia Compostelana und die Kirchenpolitik des nordwestspanischen Raumes (Cologne, 1980)
- Falque, Emma, "The Manuscript Transmission of the 'Historia Compostellana," in Manuscripta (1985): pp 80–90
- Suarez, Manuel. La Historia Compostelana. Santiago de Compostela, 1950.