Today was Sunday without a meeting to attend. Terri Weatherford planned a beautiful meeting with "Come, Follow Me" and a time for testimonies. Afterwards we rested, talked about the hymns that we are singing along the Camino, and looked at some religious poetry. We took a stroll around the very, very small village and came upon the owner of the property owner across the road from the Colegiata feeding his mares and colts of all things old stale bread.
The center point of Roncesvalles is the Real Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Roncesvalles and its cloister.
The Colegiata was built in the 13th century and is a typical French gothic design.
After the mass one of the priests took us on a tour of the Colegiata and the cloister:
Above is what is known as the crypt but it does not hold any burial spaces. It was designed as a support for the apse that is immediately above. The church is built on the edge of a hill and extends out beyond the edge. Below you can see the backside of the church where the crypt is located.
The priest then took us into the cloister. It is a reconstruction from the the 1600 when the entire cloister collapsed under snow. It is built to be like a fortress and to protect it from any future collapses.
(They have a recent photo of snow piled up to the top of the arches; a height of about 12 feet)
Just off the cloister you can see the tomb of Sancho VII, the Strong (1154-1234). The effigy is sculpted after the English-style (with the typical crossed legs as a sign of humility). They claim that the size of the sculpture represents his actual height of a little over 7 feet!? Sancho is known for his participation in the Battle of the Navas de Tolosa (1212) which was key to the further expansion of the Christian kingdom. From that battle he brought back prisoner chains used by the Moors. The chain motif has now become an integral part of the flag of Navarro.
We had a great day!
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