Kingdom of Sobrarbe
Encyclopedia
The Kingdom of Sobrarbe was the legend
ary predecessor to the Kingdom of Aragon
and the modern region of Sobrarbe
(from Latin super Arbem, on mount Arbe). According to the late medieval legend, the kingdom, with its capital at L'Aïnsa, was a product of the Reconquista
. The legend is based in part on the historical origins of the Kingdom of Pamplona.
, the local Christians of what was to become Sobrarbe met at "Espelunga de Galión" in the year 724, in the place where today stands the monastery of San Juan de la Peña
. There they created an army to fight the invaders and elected as their leader a certain Garzía Ximéniz. Since the Muslims had already taken Jaca
, the chief city of the region, the Christians decided to attack L'Aïnsa. After a prolonged siege they took the city and re-fortified it effectively. When the Muslims counter-besieged it with four times the troops the fall of the city appeared imminent. Then out of the sky appeared a vermillion cross atop an oak tree on a gold field. Interpreted as a sign from God, the cross encouraged the Christians and the Muslims were put to flight. In accordance with vows taken at Espelunga, Garzía Ximéniz, in response to the victory, founded a hermitage dedicated to John the Baptist
at the site. This evolved into the monastery of San Juan de la Peña under Garzía's successors. The kingdom that was baptised at L'Aïnsa they named Sobrarbe, because it was founded "on a tree" (sobre arbre) when the cross appeared there.
According to Gualberto Fabricio de Vagad
in his Crónica de Aragón (1499), the second king of Sobrarbe, Garzía Ennéguiz (Garci Íñigo), conquered Pamplona
from the Muslims in the time of Charlemagne
.
The image of the red cross on a tree against field of gold was incorporated into the Aragonese coat-of-arms in the top left quarter. By the fifteenth century the legend had been incorporated into the Aragonese national consciousness. It was given a full, historicising treatment in the five-volume Renaissance
history of Aragon, De Aragoniae Regibus et eorum rebus gestis libri V (1509), by Lucio Marineo Sículo, who describes the reigns of its kings in turn. By the late sixteenth century its historicity was widely accepted and it appears in the fourth volume of the Corónica general de España (Córdoba: 1584) by Ambrosio de Morales, court historian of Philip II of Spain
, among other general histories of the peninsula and of its kingdoms.
in his Letra intimada describes how the office of Justicia of Aragon was said to have arisen:
Over a century after Cerdán, in 1552, the fuero
s of Aragon, commissioned by the Cortes
, were published with a preface restating the legend of Sobrarbe in defence of the concept of rule of law
and the precedence of the law to the king. In 1588 Jerónimo de Blancas published the influential treatise Aragonensium rerum commentarii, which contains the most complete account of the origins of the Justicia and the six fueros de Sobrarbe which the king must accept in order to govern. In the 1580s in a number of cases argued before the tribunals in Zaragoza
the laws of Sobrarbe were cited against royal authority, as in the "dispute of the foreign viceroy", when Philip II's appointment of a non-Aragonese viceroy was rejected. In 1625 Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola
wrote that the fueros "united those once irreconcilable qualities, monarchy and liberty, and for this reason the fueros of vassalage in Aragon are called liberties."
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary predecessor to the Kingdom of Aragon
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
and the modern region of Sobrarbe
Sobrarbe
Sobrarbe is one of the Comarcas of Aragon, Spain. It is located in the northern part of the province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain...
(from Latin super Arbem, on mount Arbe). According to the late medieval legend, the kingdom, with its capital at L'Aïnsa, was a product of the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
. The legend is based in part on the historical origins of the Kingdom of Pamplona.
Legend and historiography
After the Muslim invasion of SpainUmayyad conquest of Hispania
The Umayyad conquest of Hispania is the initial Islamic Ummayad Caliphate's conquest, between 711 and 718, of the Christian Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania, centered in the Iberian Peninsula, which was known to them under the Arabic name al-Andalus....
, the local Christians of what was to become Sobrarbe met at "Espelunga de Galión" in the year 724, in the place where today stands the monastery of San Juan de la Peña
San Juan de la Peña
The monastery of San Juan de la Peña is a religious complex in the town of Santa Cruz de la Serós, at the south-west of Jaca, in the province of Huesca, Spain. It was one of the most important monasteries in Aragon in the Middle Ages. Its two-level church is partially carved in the stone of the...
. There they created an army to fight the invaders and elected as their leader a certain Garzía Ximéniz. Since the Muslims had already taken Jaca
Jaca
Jaca is a city of northeastern Spain near the border with France, in the midst of the Pyrenees in the province of Huesca...
, the chief city of the region, the Christians decided to attack L'Aïnsa. After a prolonged siege they took the city and re-fortified it effectively. When the Muslims counter-besieged it with four times the troops the fall of the city appeared imminent. Then out of the sky appeared a vermillion cross atop an oak tree on a gold field. Interpreted as a sign from God, the cross encouraged the Christians and the Muslims were put to flight. In accordance with vows taken at Espelunga, Garzía Ximéniz, in response to the victory, founded a hermitage dedicated to John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
at the site. This evolved into the monastery of San Juan de la Peña under Garzía's successors. The kingdom that was baptised at L'Aïnsa they named Sobrarbe, because it was founded "on a tree" (sobre arbre) when the cross appeared there.
According to Gualberto Fabricio de Vagad
Gualberto Fabricio de Vagad
Gualberto Fabricio de Vagad was an Aragonese Cistercian Benedictine monk and the first historian of the Kingdom of Aragon. He was born in Zaragoza in the first third of the fifteenth century and straddles the line between the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. He lived most of his life at the...
in his Crónica de Aragón (1499), the second king of Sobrarbe, Garzía Ennéguiz (Garci Íñigo), conquered Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
from the Muslims in the time of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
.
The image of the red cross on a tree against field of gold was incorporated into the Aragonese coat-of-arms in the top left quarter. By the fifteenth century the legend had been incorporated into the Aragonese national consciousness. It was given a full, historicising treatment in the five-volume Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
history of Aragon, De Aragoniae Regibus et eorum rebus gestis libri V (1509), by Lucio Marineo Sículo, who describes the reigns of its kings in turn. By the late sixteenth century its historicity was widely accepted and it appears in the fourth volume of the Corónica general de España (Córdoba: 1584) by Ambrosio de Morales, court historian of Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, among other general histories of the peninsula and of its kingdoms.
Laws
The Laws of Sobrarbe were the most influential component of the legend and a school of legal thought, the "foralists", arose in defence of Aragon's supposedly ancient customs. Mostly fabricated, the laws have been studied in depth in English by Ralph E. Giesey. The Aragonese jurist Juan Ximénez CerdánJuan Ximénez Cerdán
Juan Ximénez Cerdán was a fiscal and constitutional lawyer and legal theorist who served as the Justicia Mayor of the Kingdom of Aragon from 1390 until 1423. He was a son of Domingo Ximénez Cerdán, also a Justicia, and María Sanz de Aliaga. He married María Pérez del Sou...
in his Letra intimada describes how the office of Justicia of Aragon was said to have arisen:
Certain peoples conquered from the Moors a certain part of the kingdom in the mountains of Sobrarbe, and since these were communities with neither governor nor alderman, and given that there were many disputes and debates among them, it was determined that, to avoid such problems and so that they might live in peace, they should elect a king to reign over them ... but that there should be a Judge between them and the king, who would hold the title of Justicia of Aragon. It is held by some that the Justicia was elected before the king, and that the king was elected under such conditions. Since then there has always been a Justicia of Aragon in the kingdom, cognisant of all procedures regarding the king, as much in petitioning as in defence.
Over a century after Cerdán, in 1552, the fuero
Fuero
Fuero , Furs , Foro and Foru is a Spanish legal term and concept.The word comes from Latin forum, an open space used as market, tribunal and meeting place...
s of Aragon, commissioned by the Cortes
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
, were published with a preface restating the legend of Sobrarbe in defence of the concept of rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
and the precedence of the law to the king. In 1588 Jerónimo de Blancas published the influential treatise Aragonensium rerum commentarii, which contains the most complete account of the origins of the Justicia and the six fueros de Sobrarbe which the king must accept in order to govern. In the 1580s in a number of cases argued before the tribunals in Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
the laws of Sobrarbe were cited against royal authority, as in the "dispute of the foreign viceroy", when Philip II's appointment of a non-Aragonese viceroy was rejected. In 1625 Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola
Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola
Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola , Spanish poet and historian, was baptized at Barbastro on August 26, 1562.He studied at Huesca, took orders, and was presented to the rectory of Villahermosa in 1588. He was attached to the suite of the count de Lemos, viceroy of Naples, in 1610, and succeeded his...
wrote that the fueros "united those once irreconcilable qualities, monarchy and liberty, and for this reason the fueros of vassalage in Aragon are called liberties."
List of legendary kings (and their historical counterparts)
- Garzía Ximéniz (724–758)
- Garzía Ennéguiz I (758–802)
- Fortún Garzés I (802–815)
- Sancho Garzés (815–832)
- Enneco Ariesta (868–870) → Íñigo Arista
- Garzía Ennéguiz II (870–885) → García Íñiguez
- Fortún Garzés II (885–901) → Fortún Garcés
External links
- Sobrarbe at the Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa