The Royal
Panteon

The Kingdom of León

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Royal Panteon

The Kingdom of León was one of the most important of all those of the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Age. Specialy between 910 with the movement of the capital form Oviedo to León and the 1230 when León is put together with Castilla under the King Fernando the 3rd the Saint.

These two centuries were important for the Iberian history, the kings of León and their brave soldiers conquered the lands under the muslim’s power. They moved the border to the Guadiana’s river.

The key players of this historical period were the next kings:

Alfonso V

Alfonso V (999-1028)

Es quien promulga el Fuero de León, texto legal que otorga importantes privilegios a sus súbditos y a través del cual se reorganiza el territorio leonés. Hoy se encuentra enterrado en el Panteón Real.

Fernando I

Fernando I (1037-1065)

Fernando the 1st (1037-1065) “the Great” expands the borders of the Kingdom to Valencia. He and his wife, the Queen Sancha, brought the Romanesque art to this land, installed here the Royal Palace and consecrated the basilica with the remains of Saint Isidoro.

Alfonso VI

Alfonso VI (1065-1109)

Alfonso the 6th (1065-1109) wider the borders and conquered the important city of Toledo in 1085.

Doña Urraca

Doña Urraca (1033-1101)

His sister Doña Urraca, domina of the Infantry of león order the paintings knwon as “The Sistine Chapel of the Romanesque Art” and donate her jewels to compose Urraca`s Chalice.

Alfonso IX

Alfonso IX (1188-1230)

Alfonso the 9th (1188-1230) convened the Courts where Parliament was borned. This way UNESCO regognized all of this as Memory of the World in 2013.

The Royal Panteon

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Capitel

The Royal Panteon is a marvellous place wellknown as “The Sistine Chapel of the Romanesque Art”. Here lie 33 members of the Leonese Court, 11 kings, 12 queens, 10 infantes (princes) and 9 counts, together with a number of nobles. The building of the place was ordered by the King Ferdinand the 1st and the Queen Sancha.

Call our attention the Capitals full of simbolism such us the sacrifice of Isaac. We have to underline the representations of the healing of the leper and the resurrection of Lazarus.

The most importnat elements are the paintings. These are frescoes, When mineral pigments are applied, still moist lime, if this is done at the right time a chemical reaction occurs upon contact with lime pigment such that they become one with the wall and stay forever. They were great artists with the tecnic and aesthetics in the Romanesque.

La Anunciación de los pastores

The most important scenes are:

The Announcement of the angel to the shepherds. It is one of the best scenes and it is almost intact. We have to take into account the movement, the details, is a pastoral scene in medieval Leonese mountains of the 11th Centuty that transport us at that time.

The Last Supper with a large table full of meal. Jesucrist is located at the centre of the scene with Peter and John. Near the corners Judas and Marcial “the Cupbearer”, is the character who poured the wine in the Holy Supper according to the Apocrypha. Some researchers underline that the vessel of the picture is similar to the one that compose the Chalice.

el Apocalipsis de San Juan

The Romanesque Crucifixión is flanked by the sun and the moon and placed on Adan’s skull. We can see the King and Queen, on their Knees praying at the foot of the Cross.

In last place, we see different scenes of the Apocalypse of St. John that are use to be placed in the romanesque art, such us: the glorified Christ in Majesty "Christ Pantocrator " or The agricultura calendar. Each month is represented by an activity of the agriculture or the farming that take place in that season.

Image gallery

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Royal Panteon
Royal Panteon
Royal Panteon
The Chalice’s Chapel Renaissance Library

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