After yesterday’s long hike along the highway, we thought we would try the parallel alternate route three or four kilometers to the south. To get there we needed to get the surly bartender that we had been giving so much trouble to, to order us up a cab. That went far better than expected, as he was just as happy to get rid of us. We were soon on the other Camino. It proved to be a flat and unchanging small road but at least without the big trucks. We arrived in Hospital de Orbigo about noon. This hotel proved to be far more hospitable than the last.
After wandering around the tiny town we settled on what looked to be a seedy bar for a cheap lunch. The bar opened up into a lovely dining room that served us a wonderful dinner of fried trout, among the best meals we have had. And it was still cheap. Not judging books by covers and things.
The town is named for a Knights of Saint John hospice that was located here, but has been gone for centuries. What the town is known for is the large 16 arch stone bridge over the river Orbigo (and over its flood plain) and the events that occurred here.
It is the location of the last significant medieval jousting tournament. In 1434 a Leonese nobleman, one Suero de Quinones, who had been scorned by his lady, vowed to wear an iron collar and challenge the best lances in Europe on the bridge to win her favour. King Juan II promoted it through the kingdom, and noble knights from all over Europe flocked in to have go at him.
The tournament began on July 11, 1434, two weeks before St. James Day in a holy year, when the Camino was flooded with pilgrims. The tournament continued until August 9th, when Suero declared that since he had worn the iron band, and broken 300 lances, he had proven himself to the lady. He then proceed on a pilgrimage to Santiago.
All of this was recorded in detail by the town notary, (some say the scribe of the King) which is why we have this record.
Did he marry the lady? Ah, it doesn’t say here. He did marry Doña Leonor de Tovar, who may have been the lady in question.
Anyway 24 years later he met one of the knights he had defeated who was still vengeful, had a joust and died.
Well, that is the romantic version. The Wikipedia article says he only wore the collar on Thursdays. What’s up with that? The Spanish Wikipedia says he was assassinated by the squires of a knight he defeated, not the knight himself.
A recent second look at the manuscripts suggested the he did not ‘break the 300’ spears, but since he did confront 68 adversaries, the judges gave him a pass mark, and allowed him to stop. He also did not do it single handed, he had nine followers helping. The review also suggests that the Franciscan priest who prepared the manuscript for publication a century later embellished many of the facts. The original is lost. There are said to be five copies existing of the Franciscan’s version.
But, despite all that, the story is a classic of chivalry in the late medieval period. True Arthurian stuff. They still apparently do reenactments, as the jousting lists are visible out our window on the original site.
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