{"id":71,"date":"2016-07-19T16:44:56","date_gmt":"2016-07-19T21:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/santiagoinlove.com\/en\/?p=71"},"modified":"2016-12-16T09:53:28","modified_gmt":"2016-12-16T14:53:28","slug":"santiago-sta-marta-tera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/santiagoinlove.com\/en\/santiago-sta-marta-tera\/","title":{"rendered":"Santiago of Santa Marta de Tera"},"content":{"rendered":"

I discovered this statue in Santa Marta on my 2011 pilgrimage on the Camino Sanabr\u00e9s (Spain): I liked it at once!\u00a0Only once back home did I realize it was a pretty famous statue…<\/strong><\/p>\n

And for good reason!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Where can you admire this statue and what is it to see?<\/a> \u00a0~ \u00a0A great value inbetween worlds: reading of an original statue<\/a> \u00a0~ \u00a0Multiple\u00a0tributes<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Santiago<\/a><\/h2>\n

Where can you admire this statue and what is it to see?<\/h2>\n

\"Santa\"SantaThis Saint James\u00a0can be seen in Santa Marta de Tera<\/strong>, a village next to the rio Tera at the beginning of the Camino Sanabr\u00e9s<\/strong>, about 185 miles away from Santiago. Don’t judge this hamlet by its apparent modesty, as it is home of much more than the 200 souls living there.<\/p>\n

Santa Marta’s church<\/strong> is in fact a jewel of Romanesque architecture<\/strong>. It is the last remain of a monastery built in the 10th century<\/strong>, one that is the oldest of its age<\/strong> in the province of Zamora. Its past and its architectural\u00a0details make it a building of great historical and artistic value: it has now been registered\u00a0among\u00a0the cultural heritage sites of Spain<\/strong>. The church is also know for its natural light phenomena<\/strong>: on the days of the spring and fall equinoxes, a capital representing the Christ is illuminated by the men-focused rays of the sun.<\/p>\n

\"equinoxes<\/p>\n

As for Santa Marta’s Santiago<\/strong>, he can be seen today outside the church<\/strong>, in an alcove on the west pillar of the portal<\/strong> that frames the main entrance of the building, on the southern frontage<\/strong>. The statue’s original place is unknown, even if some theorize that it was in the past the same it is\u00a0filling today. What is\u00a0certain is that in-between, saint James lived on higher grounds<\/strong> for quite a while. He in fact decorated the belfry for a long time, before is was taken down in 1931 during the restorations that followed the church registration as a national historical monument. With a height of about 4 feet when it was whole, the statue suffered some damages that led it to break at the level of the saint’s knees<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/a>It also was decorated once with an inscription that read “James the Apostle” that faded away with time.<\/p>\n

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A great value between 2 worlds: reading of an unique\u00a0statue<\/h2>\n

Just like a treasure inside a treasure, Santa Marta’s statue of\u00a0Saint James has its own historical and artistic value<\/strong>. There are many\u00a0unknown<\/strong>\u00a0data<\/strong>\u00a0about it (like e.g. who sculpted it<\/strong>), but it still remains a major piece of Spanish Romanesque art<\/strong> and a very unique and original representation of the saint<\/strong>. It is very often considered\u00a0the first sculpture<\/em> ever made of saint James in History<\/strong> (although this theory is impossible to assess, as leaving exact dating wasn’t exactly the ancient builders’ forte<\/em>…). Studying this statue with the historical context of its creation in mind gives it a capital importance among Saint James’ iconographic tradition<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"SantaSome think the presence of the statue in Santa Marta is a sign of Saint James and Santiago de Compostela’s\u00a0growing popularity in the 12th century Spain<\/strong>. Experts agree to say the statue was made close-by: this leads to the hypothesis that, because Santa Marta isn’t on a main road leading to Galicia, the presence of Saint James’ statue there is a proof of the integration of its cults into the Iberian back country. Others suggest otherwise: they consider Saint James was only one of a set of 12 statues that depicted the 12 apostles<\/strong>, from which only 2 others were recovered: Judas Thaddeus<\/strong>, now perched on the northern portal of the church, and an unknown apostle facing Saint James<\/strong> from the other pillar of the southern portal. With no certainty about it, this mysterious apostle is often referred to as Saint Peter<\/strong>. Although it’s not really relevant since no one knows where the statues were originally set, having the 2 Saint in symmetrical\u00a0positions\u00a0gives Saint James a lot of advantages. As for religious and architectural iconography, it conveys the fact\u00a0that both are equal in the Saints and Apostles’ hierarchy.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the most interesting\u00a0feature of this statue is its look<\/strong>, as it displays a\u00a0shift in\u00a0the perception of Saint James<\/strong> at the time it was created. Before the 12th century, he was perceived and pictured as an Apostle of the Christ and a preacher<\/strong>. His clothes and his attitude frozen in stone recall these identities: a fancy\u00a0and elegant tunic, his face and left hand stretched in an energetic preach. In addition to these classic features for its time, Santa Marta’s Santiago is also given the\u00a0attributes of a\u00a0pilgrim<\/strong>: a staff, a pouch and a scallop. A<\/strong>\u00a0very unusual depiction for this Apostle<\/strong> and a mixture of attributes that makes the originality of this very statue. From the 12th century on, Saint James will slowly become a “pilgrim of\u00a0his own shrine”; a representation that has become very traditional for him. Santiago of Santa Marta therefore fulfill both the functions of a preacher<\/strong> (guide crowds to salvation; preserve them from demons (as expressed by his risen left hand); urge\u00a0them to hurry (pressing expressive face)) and of a pilgrim<\/strong> (rely on God only (small pouch); lean on the Holly Trinity to defend himself from dark forces (staff); be charitable (scallop)). Santiago of\u00a0Santa Marta thus has the double duty of guide and protector<\/strong> of the souls moving toward salvation.<\/a><\/p>\n