Santiago Matamoros at San Pedro de Arlanza

Today, July 25, is the feast of the apostle James the Greater. According to legends that accrued in the course of the Middle Ages, James buried in Spain where he became known as Santiago, eventually taking on the role as a saintly knight who aided the Christians against the Muslim Spaniards of al-Andalus, earning him the nickname Matamoros, Moor-killer. The history of his cult is both long and complex, and something that deserves far more depth than I can give it in this present blogpost. But as a nod to the Spanish legend of Santiago, here is a weather-worn statue of Santiago killing an enemy, presumably a Moor, from the monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza in the province of Burgos. The monastery became defunct under the confiscation of its lands in the nineteenth century under the aegis of  Juan Álverez Mendizábal in the period 1836-37, and what remains of it now is a set of impressive and beautiful ruins. The date of the statue is not known to me. It occupies a niche above the main entrance into what was once the great monastery complex, and served as a reminder to the visitors of Santiago's prowess against whoever was considered the enemy.