Palacio de Gelmírez and Exhibition St. Francis and His Time. Santiago de Compostela. Part 3.

We begin here the Part 3 of our visit to the Palacio de Gelmírez. We are on the first floor, have just left behind the room in which was the old kitchen of the Palacio, from the Romanesque period. Now we go into the corridor and we head toward the next room, to our left.

Entrance door to the next room.

The panel in this room. Transcription:

Profane life. The chivalric tradition.

The seductiveness of chivalric life was the first choice of young Francis, before he embarked on the spiritual path. The hero Roland blowing the Oliphant, calling Charlemagne to his aid, is a visual memory found in chansons de geste such as the Song of Roland, which inspired Book IV of the Codex Calixtinus. The Virgin de las Navas bore witness to one of the most famous military events of the period: the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, which pitted Alfonso VIII of Castile and the military orders against the Almohads of al-Andalus. According to tradition, the Virgin from the Cistercian Monastery of Santa María de Huerta (Soria) accompanied the archbishop of Toledo, Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada, to the battle.

Melchor kneeling (detail). Portomarín workshop, 1220-1230. From an Epiphany in the church of Santo Estevo de Ribas de Miño, O Saviñao (Lugo).

These are the two works exhibited in this room.

Virgen de las Navas. Anonymous. Late 12^th century – early 13^th. Painted wood. Cistercian Monastery of Santa María de Huerta (Soria).

Capital of Roland. From Mother Church of Amorim. Povoa de Varzim (Porto). Anonymous, 12th century. Granite. Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Porto (Portugal). Deposit of the Cámara Municipal de Porto.

We are going out into the corridor again.

From the corridor we see again the outside, the northern façade of the Cathedral, the two coats of arms and the Romanesque corbels.

We head to the third room of this first floor, the largest of the three. This is known as Sala Manrique ( Manrique Room) in which its Gothic arches highlight. This room contains three different panels:

1 The sacred path. Ceremony and liturgy.

2 The hazards of the Camino.

3 The image of Paradise.


This is the entrance door to the Sala Manrique.

The entrance door is seen from the inside of the room.

Sala Manrique.

These are the three panels in this room.

This is the first panel in this room (from the entrance door). Transcription:

The sacred path. Ceremony and liturgy.

Representing the ceremonial symbolism and poetic beauty of works from pontifical sources and altars, this room presents a selection of liturgical gold and silver pieces from the 13^th century. In performing their catechetical function, the Franciscans of late medieval Europe made use of persuasive sermons and tools such as the Liturgy of the Hours: prayers, bible readings and psalms. Sacred texts were collected in a Franciscan breviary, used on the frequent journeys made by the friars. The exhibition includes a beautiful 13^th-century manuscript containing a compilation of works intended for daily prayer, depending on the time of day and period of the year.

Saint Francis before the Crucifix of San Damiano (detail). Giotto and his workshop, late thirteenth century – early fourteenth. Upper Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi (Italy).

These are the works exhibited in this part of the room.

From left to right:

1 Eucharistic Dove. 13^th century. Silver-gilt, engraved. Museum of the Benedictine Abbey of Silos, Burgos.

2 Staff of San Rosendo. Anonymous. 12th century. Museum of San Salvador de Celanova, Ourense.

3 Chalice of San Rosendo.

4 Christ in Majesty paten. Anonymous, 1250-1300. Silver-gilt and enamel. Museu Alberto Sampaio, Guimaraes, Portugal.

Detail of 4: Christ in Majesty paten. Anonymous, 1250-1300. Silver-gilt and enamel. Museu Alberto Sampaio, Guimaraes, Portugal.

Processional Cross. Anonymous. 13th century. Copper and glass. Museo Diocesano y Catedralicio. Cathedral of Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca.

This is the second panel in this room. Transcription:

The hazards of the Camino.

The spiritual seeds sown by the Franciscans in the towns and cities along the Way of St. James created a spiritual environment with deeply-rooted values. The Hazards of the Camino symbolically depicts certain dangers, almost always related to sensual matters, with the soul falling into the all-consuming darkness of carnality. These hazards also made an appearance on capitals in churches and cloisters, with a didactic and moralizing purpose. They took the form of mermaids, or the appearance of a demonic dragon that one day established a threatening presence in the cloister of the Franciscan Monastery at Betanzos.

The expulsión of the demonds from Arezzo (detail). Giotto and his workshop, late thirteenth century – early fourteenth. Upper Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi (Italy).

This is the third panel in this room. Transcription:

The image of Paradise.

Gothic art presents a new world of forms, symbols, spaces and emotions though buildings and monuments that revitalized both urban and sacred spaces. Its façades, altars, tombs, stained glass windows and cloisters offered a moving and persuasive visualization of the sacred texts. The symbolism of coloured light, an effect which transformed the space, was of essential importance in this new visual programme. The conscious search for the image of Paradise also played a central role, reinforced by sculptural groups with natural elements and beatific angels bearing horrifying messages.

Saint Francis preaching to the birds (detail). Giotto and his workshop, late thirteenth century – early fourteenth. Upper Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi (Italy).

These are the works exhibited in this part of the room.

Trumpeter Angel. From a representation of the Last Judgment of the Cathedral of Orense. Anonymous from Orense. C.a. 1300. Granite. Museo Catedral Basílica de San Martín, Orense.

Left: Sirens Capital. 13th century. Granite. Museu Alberto Sampaio. Guimaraes, Portugal.

Right: Capital with a demonic dragon and animal-like or hominid heads. From the cloister of the Franciscan Convent of Betanzos. Workshop of Betanzos. Last quarter of the 14^th century. Museo das Mariñas of Betanzos, A Coruña.

Left: The Christian Vegetal Paradise. 15^th century. Granite. Museo das Mariñas of Betanzos.

Right: Angel with cartela (slip of paper). Workshop of Maestro Mateo. First half of the 13^th century. Granite. Museo de la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela.

Franciscan Breviary. 13th century. Binding 19th century. Biblioteca Nacional de España. Madrid.

We have to leave this room. At the bottom of the picture to the left we can see the door that leads to the corridor of the first floor. We will climb a staircase and we will access to the Salón de Fiestas, perhaps the most outstanding room of the Palacio de Gelmírez. (We will see it in Part 4).

End of Part 3.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6