This is the story according to the Códex Calixtinus,
written by Aymeric Picaud. Historical events coincide with
legend in the fact that Alfonso II ordered to build a temple
dedicated to the Apostle. The rest is a result of the popular
imagination.
For the King, the discovery of the Apostle´s sepulchre
was an important event, from the religious and military
points of view. In the first third of the 9 C, the Moorish
invasion was almost completed. Only the Northern Kingdoms
resisted the domination. Alfonso II, as opossed to his predecessors,
wanted to resume war against the Arabs.
The discovery of the Apostle´s remains, dated around
830, meant the discovery of an element by which all Christian
kingdoms would join forces against their mutual enemy. Then
Santiago´s image of being a peaceful Apostle of Christ
became that of a slayer of the Moors, whose bodies are crushed
by the Apostle´s horse and are beheaded by his sword.
Tradition states that the saint was to preside over the
most important battles of the Reconquest, helping to overcome
the inferiority complex of the Christian peoples. These
recovered gradually their territories while Compostela became
the main focus of spiritual interest for the Kingdom of
Asturias-Leon and, later on, for Europe.
|
