Monforte was one of the Galician settlements with the largest Jewish populations. As elsewhere, the Jews of Monforte were not obliged to live in a certain district and their presence extended throughout the city. Despite this, they had their communal building situated in the area of Falagueira street, A Rúa Vella (old street), A Zapatería (Cobblers´ street) (today known as Travesía de la Cárcel Vieja – Old Prison crossing), AçougueSquare (Pescadería Square) or Rúa de los Herreros (Blacksmith street – now part of España square), were inhabited by Jewish families until the expulsion of 1492.
Rather than a Jewish quarter, according to the latest contributions by the local researcher Felipe Aira Pardo, in Monforte de Lemos we should talk about areas of Jewish influence as the medieval town of Cabe did not have an area solely inhabited by Jews, but rather streets and squares where Jewish and Christian families both resided. Even so, the old population inside the walls where the majority of Jews lived in the Middle Ages constitutes per se a space full of mystery where references to a small community abound whose memory has remained indelible thanks to documents, legends and architectonic elements such as the trabuleiros, which form part of the same commercial essence of this place, the capital of the district of Lemos and Ribeira Sacra.
circa 1104 - 1492
Jews settle in Monforte
circa 1300
Homage Tower
The majestic Homage tower, the main element of the medieval castle crowned by the St. Vincent mountain for over seven hundred years, is one of the symbols most identified with the people of Monforte and the monte fuerte (strong mountain) which lends it name to the city. From the top of this magnificent bastion from the 13th to the 14th centuries you can see the true dimensions of Monforte and its environment, but also establish an interesting starting point in the world of the converted Jews, seeking to resolve the enigma of the meaning of the stars of Solomon (the five tips representing the five books of the Pentateuch, a symbol also known for centuries in Galicia as the Goblin cross) which are located amongst the headstone signs and stonemason marks of their ashlar.
These stonemason marks are located in the oldest part of the Homage Tower from the 14th century. On the east face, we can see headstone signs and stonemasons´ marks. These marks were the assurance of quality of the work and they identified the engraver or school of engravers who have worked on the ashlar. The most common is the star of five tips or the Seal of Solomon.
circa 1510
The Palacio de los Condes de Lemos is built
The Counts of Lemos were one of the most important noble families in Spain. Particularly relevant was the figure of the 7th Count, Don Pedro Fernández de Castro, who eventually became the Vice-rey of Naples and who is recalled as a patron of Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Quevedo and Góngora.
Alongside the Homage Tower, the Count´s Palace of the lords (later the hereditary, perpetual counts) of Lemos, integrated with the monastery of St. Vincent into the Tourist hotel facilities, sets the tone for a town traditionally subject to top-down governance.
To replace the former medieval palace, the 3rd countess of Lemos, doña Beatriz de Castro, erected a new construction in the 16th century which suffered a devastating fire in the late 18th century. The old count´s palace is still protected by the remains of the Monforte fortified complex and its façade, supported by Angels, maintains the magnificent family coat-of-arms.
circa 1510
The church of San Vicente is built
The Benedictine monastery, erected in the 16th century on a previous monastery from the 10th century, constitutes a formidable architectonic display in which the church of St. Vincent of the Pine stands out. This impressive monastic church has a Renaissance gateway, whilst the interior is set in transition Gothic endowed with intricately ribbed vaults. A Baroque organ, silent for some decades now, can be found in a lateral of the chancel. On the main altar there is an interesting allegorical painting portraying the torture of St. Vincent.
A large part of the monastic building currently houses the Monforte de Lemos Tourist Hotel.
circa 1520
Funeral headstone of the Gaibor
The death of Jorge de Gaibor is related with a popular convert story known as the case of the Christ of the Lashes, perfectly documented by the Santiago Inquisition in 1580. The testimony of one of its servants combined with the fact that he saw his son Juan with a crucifix and some lashes, served as the basis for the accusation that the recent convert was spending his nights whipping an image of Christ on the Cross. Convened by the Holy Court, based in Valladolid at that time, during the journey he felt very sick and had to return quickly to his house in Monforte where he died in a matter of days.
At the Provincial Archaeological Museum of Ourense there is a valuable headstone from Monforte which corresponds to the chapel that the Gaibor founded at the start of the 16th century at the Franciscan convent of St. Anthony of Padua where the Counts of Lemos had their Family pantheon and which indicates that underneath lie Juan de Gaibor and Jorge de Gaibor, residents and councillors of this town.
A piece was missing from the inscription which brought about the erroneous belief, which has now been clarified, that said piece proved the foundation of a house in Monforte de Lemos by the Gaibor lineage.
1580
Death of Juan de Gaibor
The death of Jorge de Gaibor is related with a popular convert story known as the case of the Christ of the Lashes, perfectly documented by the Santiago Inquisition in 1580. The testimony of one of its servants combined with the fact that he saw his son Juan with a crucifix and some lashes, served as the basis for the accusation that the recent convert was spending his nights whipping an image of Christ on the Cross. Convened by the Holy Court, based in Valladolid at that time, during the journey he felt very sick and had to return quickly to his house in Monforte where he died in a matter of days.
1580
El Cristo de los Azotes (Christ of the Lashes) and Cristo de la Colada (Christ of
the Washing)
One of the best known cases of insults and contempt in the history of Monforte is El Cristo de los Azotes and Cristo de la Colada whose existence is documented until the Napoleonic invasion of the city. Friar Jacobo de Castro, a chronicler of the Franciscan Order, at the time of his visit to the Monforte convent of San Antonio in the 18th century, recorded that some curious pieces were kept there. He says:
circa 1890
The Gaibor headstone is found in a Monforte house
At the Provincial Archaeological Museum of Ourense there is a valuable headstone from Monforte which corresponds to the chapel that the Gaibor founded at the start of the 16th century at the Franciscan convent of St. Anthony of Padua where the Counts of Lemos had their Family pantheon and which indicates that underneath lie Juan de Gaibor and Jorge de Gaibor, residents and councillors of this town.
Glossary
- :
- jewish quarter: Traditional name given to the Jewish district or part of a city where the Jews´ homes were concentrated. In some cases it was determined by law as an exclusive place of residence of the members of this community. By extension, the term applies to any area known to be inhabited by families of Jewish culture.
- mikveh, l. heb: Ritual bathing. Space where the purification baths prescribed by Judaism are taken.
- pentateuch: The first five books of the Bible which form the Torah or Jewish law by antonomasia.
- torah, l. heb: Text of the first five books of the Bible.
- aljama, l. heb: Specific institution of the Medieval Hispanic kingdoms which dealt with the governance and internal administration of the Jewish community.
- converts converts: A christened Jew who has converted to Christianity.Jews converted to Christianity who returned to their place of origin after expulsion.
- synagogue, l. gr: Gathering place for faithful Jews and the place of worship and studies. The term comes from the Greek synagogē which means place of congregation.