Battle of Clavijo

Battle of Clavijo
	Part of the Reconquista
	; Battle of Clavijo by Corrado Giaquinto
Date	23 May, 844
Location	Clavijo, Spain
Result	Victory for the Kingdom of Asturias
Belligerents
Kingdom of Asturias	Emirate of Cordoba
Commanders and leaders
Ramiro I of Asturias	Unknown

The Battle of Clavijo was a legendary battle that never took place,^[1] reportedly fought near Clavijo between the Spanish Christians led by Ramiro I of Asturias, and the Muslims led by the Emir of Córdoba. In the legend Saint James Matamoros, known to Spaniards as Santiago Matamoros (the Moor-slayer) suddenly appeared and aided a vastly outnumbered Christian army. Aspects of the historical Battle of Monte Laturce (859) were incorporated into this legend, as Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz demonstrated in 1948.^[2] The date originally assigned to the battle, 834, was changed in modern times to suit the inherent contradictions of the account.

The legend as it survives was first written down in the twelfth century on a spurious charter. A forged grant to the Church of Santiago de Compostela by which Ramiro reportedly surrendered a part of the annual tribute owed him by all the Christians of Spain also dates from the mid-twelfth century. The history of the cult of Saint James is rich in such frauds,^[3] but has provided one of the strongest ideological icons in the Spanish national identity.

Gallery[]

Saint James' appearance at Clavijo has been a major theme in art. Among those artists who portrayed him there are Aniello Falcone, Paolo da San Leocadio, Evaristo Muñoz, Mateo Pérez de Alesio, Martin Schongauer, Corrado Giaquinto, and Antonio González Ruiz.

References[]

Sources

Pérez de Urbel, Justo. 1954. "Lo viejo y lo nuevo sobre el origin del Reino de Pamplona". Al-Andalus, 19:1–42, especially 20–6.
Fletcher, Richard A. 1984. Saint James's Catapult: The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Notes

↑ Collins, Roger (1983). Early Medieval Spain. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 237. ISBN 0-312-22464-8.
↑ "La auténtica batalla de Clavijo", Cuadernos de Historia de España, 9:94–139, reprinted in Orígenes de la nación española, III (Oviedo: 1975), 281–311. Cited in Fletcher, 67.
↑ Collins, Roger (1983). Early Medieval Spain. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 236. ISBN 0-312-22464-8.

Coordinates: 42°21′N 2°25′E / 42.35°N 2.417°E / 42.35; 2.417

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Battle of Clavijo and the edit history here.

[1] Collins, Roger (1983). Early Medieval Spain. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 237. ISBN 0-312-22464-8.

[2] "La auténtica batalla de Clavijo", Cuadernos de Historia de España, 9:94–139, reprinted in Orígenes de la nación española, III (Oviedo: 1975), 281–311. Cited in Fletcher, 67.

[3] Collins, Roger (1983). Early Medieval Spain. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 236. ISBN 0-312-22464-8.

[1]

[2]

[3]