Medieval Weekends In Spain
If you enjoy all things medieval, then you should consider spending a weekend enjoying Medieval Spain. There are many legends from this period in Spanish history, which extended from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Christian conquest of Spain from the Moors, roughly from the 5th century to the 15th century.
You can see the remnants of this period evidenced by the walls and fortifications which still stand to the Spanish words and names of towns of Moorish origin. There are many legends from the medieval period as well as some weekend medieval fairs for people to enjoy.
Here is one such story, “The Legend of the Horse of King Sancho the Great”. King Sancho had to leave home for an extended period and left his favorite horse in the care of his wife, Queen Elvira. His only command was that no one was to ride the horse while he was gone.
The queen took good care of the horse, brushing and feeding it herself every day. However, her eldest son, Garcia, asked her to ride the horse day after day. He wore her down over time to the point where she was about to let him ride the horse. A knight at the court advised her not to let Garcia ride the horse because the King would be angry.
This refusal angered Garcia, so when the King returned, Garcia told him that Queen Elvira had had an affair with one of the knights. The King, in his anger, locked Queen Elvira in a tower and since neither of the Queen’s sons would step forward on their mother’s behalf, the King decided to have a tournament to decide the Queen’s innocence or guilt.
The only one who stepped forward for the Queen was Ramiro, the King’s illegitimate son by another woman. A devout monk approached the King and said he would tell the King the truth of the matter if the King promised not to get angry with the wrongdoers.
The King promised and so the monk told him what had really gone on. The King released the Queen and asked if there was anything he could do to make amends. All that she asked was that Garcia never be allowed to rule Castile, her brother’s home, and that Ramiro rule Castile instead.
If you’d like to spend a weekend getting to know more about medieval Spain, check with the tourism offices in any of the following towns for information on their medieval festivals.
Valverde del Jucar (Cuenca) – January – Moors and Christians Festivities
Teruel – February – Reenactments of The Wedding of Isabel de Segura’ (Legendary medieval love story) and Medieval Fair
Hospital de Orbigo (Leon) – June – Medieval Tournaments of Passo Honroso
Sepúlveda (Segovia) – July – Fiesta de los Fueros
Consuegra (Toledo) – August – Consuegra Medieval