was the archbishop of Toledo, named Urban.—He, with a holy foresight,
collected the sacred relics which he could, and the most precious books
of his own church and of others, determining to carry them all to the
Asturias, in order that the holy relics might not be profaned or treated
with little reverence by the infidels; and that the books of the Holy
Scriptures, and of the ecclesiastical offices, and the works of our holy
doctors, might not be lost.—And although many relics are mentioned which
the archbishop then carried from Toledo, especial mention is made of a
holy ark full of many and most remarkable relics, which through divers
chances and dangers, had been brought from Jerusalem to Toledo, and of
which all that is fitting shall be related in its place, if it please
God that this history should proceed. It is also expressly said, that
the cope which Our Lady gave to St. Ildefonso, was then carried to the
Asturias with the other relics; and being so capital a relic, it was a
worthy thing to write of it thus particularly. Of the sacred books which
were saved at that time, there are specified the Holy Scriptures, the
Councils, the works of St. Isidore, and St. Ildefonso, and of St. Julian
the archbishop of Toledo. And as there is at this day in the church of
Oviedo that holy ark, together with many others of the relics which were
then removed, so do I verily believe that there are in the library of
that church three or four books of those which were then brought from
Toledo. I am led to this belief by seeing that they are written in a form
of Gothic letters, which being compared with writings six hundred years
old, are without doubt much older, and of characters so different, that
they may well be attributed to the times of the Goths. One is the volume
of the Councils, another is a _Santoral_, another contains the books
of St. Isidore _de Naturis Rerum_, with other works of other authors.
And there are also some leaves of a Bible.—To put these sacred relics
in greater security, and avoid the danger of the Moors, they hid them
in a cave, and in a sort of deep pit therein, two leagues from the city
of Oviedo, (which was not at that time built,) in a mountain, which was
for this reason called Montesacro. It is now by a slight corruption
called Monsagro; and the people of that country hold the cave in great
veneration, and a great romery, or pilgrimage, is made on St. Magdalen’s
day.”—_Morales_, l. 12. c. 71.
The place where the relics were deposited is curiously described in the
Romantic Chronicle. “He found that in this land of Asturias there was a
sierra, full great, and high, the which had only two entrances, after
this manner. On the one entrance there was a great river, which was to be
passed seven times, and in none of those seven places was it fordable at
any time, except in the month of July. And after the river had been crost
seven times, there was an ascent of a long league up a high mountain,
which is full of many great trees and great thickets, wherein are many
wild beasts, such as bears and boars and wolves, and there is a pass
there between two rocks, which ten men might defend against the whole
world, and this is the one entrance. The other is, that you must ascend
this great mountain, by a path of two full leagues in length, on the
one side having always the river, and the way so narrow, that one man
must go before another, and one man can defend the path in such manner,
that no arbalist, nor engine of other kind, nor any other thing, can
hurt him, not if the whole world were to come against him. And if any
one were to stumble upon this path, he would fall more than two thousand
fathoms, down over rocks into the river, which lies at such a depth that
the water appears blacker than pitch. And upon that mountain there is a
good spring, and a plain where there are good meadows, and room enough to
raise grain for eight or ten persons for a year; and the snow is always
there for company, enduring from one year to another. And upon that
mountain the archbishop made two churches, one to the honour of St. Mary
Magdalen, and the other to the honour of St. Michael, and there he placed
all these reliques, where he had no fear that any should take them; and
for the honour of these relics, the archbishop consecrated the whole
mountain, and appointed good guard over the sacred relics, and left there
three men of good life, who were willing to remain there, serving God,
and doing penance for their sins.”—P. 2. c. 48.
Of the _Camara Santa_, Morales has given a curious account in his
Journal; the substance, with other remarkable circumstances, he
afterwards thus inserted in his great history:—
“The other church (or chapel) which King Alonso el Casto ordered to be
built on the south side of the Iglesia Mayor (or cathedral), was with
the advocation of the Glorious Archangel St. Michael. And in order that
he might elevate it, he placed under it another church of the Virgin and
Martyr St. Leocadia, somewhat low, and vaulted with a strong arch, to
support the great weight which was to be laid upon it. The king’s motive
for thus elevating this church of St. Michael, I believe certainly to
have been because of the great humidity of that land. He had determined
to place in this church the famous relics of which we shall presently
speak, and the humidity of the region is so great, that even in summer
the furniture of the houses on high ground is covered with mold. This
religious prince therefore elevated the church with becoming foresight
for reverence and better preservation of the precious treasure which
was therein to be deposited. For this reason they call it Camara, (the
chamber,) and for the many and great relics which it contains, it has
most deservedly the appellation of Holy. You ascend to it by a flight
of twenty-two steps, which begin in the cross of the Iglesia Mayor (or
cathedral), and lead to a vaulted apartment twenty feet square, where
there is an altar upon which mass is said; for within there is no altar,
neither is mass said there by reason of the reverence shewn to so great
a sanctuary; and it may be seen that K. D. Alonso intended in his plan
that there should be no altar within. In this apartment or outer chapel
is a great arched door, with a very strong fastening; it leads to another
smaller square chamber, vaulted also, with a square door, which also is
fastened with another strong fastening, and these are the fastenings and
keys which the Bishop Sampyro admires for their strength and security.
“The square door is the door of the Holy Chamber, which is in the form
of a complete church, and you descend to it by twelve steps. The body
of this church is twenty-four feet in length, and sixteen in width. Its
arched roof is of the same dimensions. The roof is most richly wrought,
and supported upon six columns of divers kinds of marble, all precious
and right beautiful, upon which the twelve apostles are sculptured, two
and two. The ground is laid with Mosaic work, with variety of columns,
representing jasper ware. The Bishop Sampyro had good reason to complain
of the darkness of this church, which has only one small window in the
upper part of the chapel; and, therefore, in this which we call the
body of the church, there are commonly three silver lamps burning, the
one in the middle larger than the other two, and many other lights are
kindled when the relics are shewn. These are kept within a grating, which
divides the chapel from the church. The chapel has two rich marbles at
the entrance; it is eighteen feet in length, and its width somewhat
less; the floor and the roof are after the same fashion as those of
the church, but it is one _estado_ lower, which in those times seems to
have been customary in Asturias and in Gallicia, the Capillas Mayores,
or principal chapels, being much lower than the body of the church. The
roof of the chapel is plain, and has painted in the middle our Saviour in
the midst of the four evangelists; and this performance is so ancient,
that it is manifestly of the age of the founder. At this iron grating
strangers are usually detained; there is a lower one within of wood, to
which persons are admitted who deserve this privilege for their dignity;
and few there be who enter farther. This church the king built to remove
to it, as accordingly he forthwith removed, the Holy Ark, the holy
bodies, and the other great relics, which, at the destruction of Spain,
were hidden in the cave and well of Monsagro, and for this cause he had
it built with so much care, and so richly, and with such security.——
“I have described the Camara Santa thus particularly, that what I may say
of the most precious relics which it contains may be the better enjoyed.
I will particularize the most principal of them, beginning with the Holy
Ark, which with great reason has deserved this name. It is in the midst
of the chapel, close to the wooden grate, so that you can only go round
it on three sides, and it is placed upon a stone pedestal, wrought with
mouldings of a palm in height. It is a vara and a half (about five feet)
in length; little less than a vara wide, and about as deep, that part
which is of silver, not including the height which the pedestal gives
it. The cover is flat, and it is covered in all parts with silver plates
of some thickness, and gilt on some places. In the front, or that side
which fronts the body of the church, it has the twelve apostles in more
than half relief, and on the sides there are histories of Our Lady in
the same silver-work. On the flat part of the cover there is a large
crucifix engraved with many other images round about it. The sides are
elaborately wrought with foliage, and the whole displays great antiquity.
The cover has round about it four lines in the silver, which, however,
are imperfect, the silver being wanting in some places. What they contain
is this, as I have copied it faithfully, with its bad Latin and other
faults:—
“_Omnis conventus populi Deo dignus catholici cognoscat, quorum inclytas
veneratur reliquias, intra pretiosissima præsentis archælatera. Hoc est
de ligno plurimum, sive de cruce Domini. De vestimentis illius, quod
per sortem divisum est. De pane delectabili unde in cena usus est. De
sindone Dominico ejus adque sudario et cruore sanctissimo. De terra
sancta quam piis calcavit tunc vestigiis. De vestimentis matris ejus
Virginis Mariæ. De lacte quoque ejus, quod multum est mirabile, His
pariter conjunctæ sunt quædam sanctorum maxime prestantes reliquiæ,
quorum prout potuimus, hæc nomina subscripsimus. Hoc est de Sancto Petro,
de Sancto Thoma, Sancti Bartolomei. De ossibus Prophetarum, de omnibus
Apostolis, et de aliis quam plurimis sanctis, quorum nomina sola Dei
scientia colligit. His omnibus egregius Rex Adefonsus humili devotione
perditus fecit hoc receptaculum, sanctorum pignoribus insignitum argento
deauratum, exterius adornatum non vilibus operibus: per quod post
ejus vitam mereatur consortium illorum in cœlestibus sanctorum jubari
precibus. Hæc quidem saluti et re_——Here a large piece of the silver is
gone.—_Novit omnis provintia in terra sine dubio._——Here there is another
great chasm.—_Manus et industria clericorum et præsulum, qui propter hoc
convenimus cum dicto Adefonso Principe, et cum germana læctissima Urraca
nomina dicta: quibus Redemptor omnium concedit indulgentiam et suorum
peccatorum veniam, per hoc sanctorum pignora Apostolorum et Sancti Justi
et Pastoris, Cosmæ et Damiani, Eulaliæ Virginis, et Maximi, Germani,
Baudili, Pantaleonis, Cypriani et Justinæ, Sebastiani, Facundi et
Primitivi, Christophori, Cucufati, Felicis, Sulpicii._
“This inscription, with its bad Latin and other defects, and by reason
of the parts that are lost, can ill be translated. Nevertheless I shall
render it, in order that it may be enjoyed by all. It says thus: Know
all the congregation of Catholic people, worthy of God, whose the famous
relics are, which they venerate within the most precious sides of this
ark. Know then that herein is great part of the wood or cross of our
Lord. Of his garment for which they cast lots. Of the blessed bread
whereof he ate at the supper. Of his linen, of the holy handkerchief (the
Sudario), and of his most holy blood. Of the holy ground which he then
trod with his holy feet. Of the garments of his mother the Virgin Mary,
and also of her milk, which is a great wonder. With these also there are
many capital relics of saints, whose names we shall write here as we can.
Saint Peter, St. Thomas, St. Bartholomew. Bones of the prophets, and of
all the Apostles, and of many other saints whose names are known only
to the wisdom of God. The noble King Don Alonso, being full of humble
devotion for all these holy relics, made this repository, adorned and
ennobled with pledges of the saints, and on the outside covered with
silver, and gilded with no little cunning. For the which may he deserve
after this life the company of these Saints in heaven, being aided by
their intercession.—These holy relics were placed here by the care and by
the hands of many clergy and prelates, who were here assembled with the
said King D. Alonso, and with his chosen sister called Donna Urraca. To
whom may the Redeemer of all grant remission and pardon of their sins,
for the reverence and rich reliquary which they made for the said relics
of the Apostles, and for those of the Saints, St. Justus and Pastor, St.
Cosme and St. Damian, St. Eulalia the Virgin, and of the Saints Maximus,
Germanus, Baudilus, Pantaleon, Cyprianus and Justina, Sebastian, Facundus
and Primitivus, Christopher, Cucufatus, Felix and Sulpicius.——
“The sum of the manner in which this Holy Ark came into Spain is this,
conformably to what is written by all our grave authors. When Cosroes
the King of Persia, in the time of the Emperor Heraclius, came upon the
Holy Land, and took the city of Jerusalem, the bishop of that city, who
was called Philip, and his clergy, with pious forethought, secreted the
Holy Ark, which from the time of the Apostles had been kept there, and
its stores augmented with new relics, which were deposited therein.
After the victory of Cosroes, the Bishop Philip, with many of his
clergy, passed into Africa, carrying with them the Holy Ark: and there
it remained some years, till the Saracens entered into that province
also, and then Fulgentius the Bishop of Ruspina, with providence like
that which had made Philip bring it to Africa, removed it into Spain.
Thus it came to the Holy Church of Toledo, and was from thence removed
to Asturias, and hidden in the cave of Monsagro: finally, King D. Alonso
el Casto removed it to the Camara Santa; and afterwards K. D. Alonso
the Great enriched it. Thus our histories write, and the same is read
in the lessons on the festival which the church of Oviedo celebrates of
the coming there of this Holy Ark, with a sermon proper for the day,
and much solemnity, the service being said on the 13th of March after
vespers, above in the church of the Camara Santa. This is a most weighty
testimony which the Holy Ark possesses of its own authenticity, and of
the genuineness of the most great treasure which it contains.—These also
are strong testimonies, that K. D. Alonso the Great should not only have
made the Ark so rich, but that this king should also have fortified
the city of Oviedo, surrounding it with walls, and making for it a
castle, and building also the castle of Gauzon upon the shore, for the
defence and security of this holy treasure, and for another end, as he
left written upon the stone of which we have elsewhere spoken. Another
testimony of great authority, is the great reverence which has been shewn
to this Holy Ark, from the time which is spoken of by Alonso the Great
in the inscription, to these our days. This is so great that no one
has dared to open it, melancholy examples being related of some daring
attempts which have been made. That which occurred in our days is not
mournful, but rather of much devotion and holy joy. The most illustrious
Señor D. Christoval de Rojas y Sandoval, who is now the most worthy
Archbishop of Seville, when he was Bishop of Oviedo, determined to open
the Holy Ark. For this, as the singular devotion and most holy zeal for
the glory of God which he has in all things, admonished him, he made such
pious preparations as the fame of so celestial a treasure shewed to be
necessary. He proclaimed solemnly a fast of forty days in his church and
through all his diocese, commanding that prayers should be made to our
Lord, beseeching him that he would be pleased with what was intended, his
Most-Illustriousness giving the example, which is very common and very
edifying in his church, in himself, and in the ministers thereof. Three
days before the Sunday on which the Ark was to be opened, he ordered
all persons to fast, and to make greater prayers with processions. When
the day arrived, he said pontifical mass, and preached, infusing with
his holy exhortations much of his own devout desires into the hearts of
the hearers. The mass being finished, clad as he was, he ascended to
the Camara Santa, with much outward solemnity, and with much fervour of
devotion internally in his heart; and having there again renewed his
humble prayers to our Lord, and quickened the ardour of that sacred
desire which had influenced him; on his knees as he was before the Holy
Ark, he took the key to open it. At the moment when he stretched out his
hand to put the key in the lock, suddenly he felt such horror and dismay,
and found himself so bereft of all power (_tan impossibilitado_) to move
it in any way, that it was impossible for him to proceed, or do any thing
but remain in that holy consternation, without having strength or ability
for more. And as if he had come there to oppose and prevent that which
purposely, and with so much desire and preparation, he had intended to
do, he desisted from his intent, and gave it up, his whole holy desire
being turned into a chill of humble shrinking and fear. Among other
things which his most Illustrious Lordship relates of what he then felt,
he says, that his hair stood up in such a manner and with such force,
that it seemed to him, as if it lifted the mitre a considerable way
from his head. Now, we all know that this famous prelate has vigour and
persevering courage for all the great things which he undertakes in the
service of our Lord; but in this manner the Holy Ark remained unopened
then, and thus I believe it will always remain fastened more surely with
veneration and reverence, and with respect of these examples, than with
the strong bolt of its lock.
“In the inscription of this Holy Ark, mention is made of the relics of
St. Baudilus, and by reason that he is a Saint very little known, it
will be proper to say something of him. This Saint is much reverenced in
Salamanca and in Zamora, and in both cities he has a parochial church,
and in Zamora they have a good part of his relics. They have so much
corrupted the name, calling him St. Boal, that the Saint is now scarcely
known by his own.
“They of the church say, that the cope of St. Ildefonso, which Our Lady
gave him, is in the Ark. This may well be believed, since our good
authors particularly relate that it was carried to Oviedo with the Holy
Ark, and with the other relics, and it does not now appear among them,
and there is much more reason to think that it has been very carefully
put away, than that it has been lost. Also they say, that when the
celestial cope was put into the Holy Ark, they took out of it the piece
of the holy Sudario, in which the head of our Redeemer was wrapped up
for his interment, as is said in the inscription of the Ark. This is
one of the most famous relics in all Christendom, and therefore it is
most richly adorned, and reverently preserved, being shown only three
times in the year with the greatest solemnity. The box in which it is
kept is wrought without of gold and azure, with beautiful mouldings and
pictures, and other ornaments of much authority. Within this there is a
square piece of wood, covered entirely with black velvet, with silver
handles, and other decorations of silver round about; in the hollow of
this square, the holy Sudario is stretched and fastened upon the velvet;
it is a thin linen cloth, three quarters long and half a vara wide, and
in many places full of the divine blood from the head of our Redeemer, in
divers forms and stains of various sizes; wherein some persons observe
marks of the divine countenance and other particularities. I did not
perceive this; but the feeling which came upon me when I looked at it is
sufficient to make me believe any thing of it; and if a wretch like me
was thus affected, what must it be with those who deserve of our Lord
greater regalements on such an occasion? It is exhibited to the people
three times in the year; on Good Friday, and on the two festivals of
the Cross in May and in September, and there is then a great concourse
from all the country, and from distant parts. This part of the cross of
the church where the Camara Santa is, is richly hung, and in the first
apartment of the Camara, a corridor is erected for this exhibition,
which is closed that day with curtains of black velvet, and a canopy
that extends over the varandas. The Bishop in his pontificals, with his
assistants and other grave persons, places himself behind the curtains
with the Holy Sudario, holding it by the silver handles, covered with
a veil. The curtains are undrawn, and the quiristers below immediately
begin the _Miserere_. The Bishop lifts the veil, and at the sight of the
Holy Sudario, another music begins of the voices of the people, deeply
affected with devotion, which verily penetrates all hearts. The Bishop
stands some time, turning the Sacred Relic to all sides, and afterwards
the veil being replaced, and the curtains redrawn, he replaces the Holy
Sudario in its box. With all these solemnities, the very Illustrious
and most Reverend Señor, M. D. Gonzalo de Solorzano, Bishop of Oviedo,
exhibited this Holy Relic on the day of Santiago, in the year of our
Redeemer 1572, in order that I might bear a more complete relation of the
whole to the King our Lord, I having at that time undertaken this sacred
journey by his command.
“Another chest, with a covering of crimson and brocade, contains a good
quantity of bones, and some pieces of a head; which, although they are
very damp, have a most sweet odour, and this all we who were present
perceived, when they were shown me, and we spoke of it as of a notable
and marvellous thing. The account which they of the church give of this
holy body is, that it is that of St. Serrano, without knowing any thing
more of it. I, considering the great dampness of the sacred bones believe
certainly that it was brought up to the Camara Santa from the church of
Leocadia, which, as it has been seen, is underneath it. And there, in
the altar, the great stone-chest is empty, in which King Alonso el Casto
enclosed many relics, as the Bishop Sampyro writes. For myself I have
always held for certain, that the body of St. Leocadia is that which is
in this rich chest. And in this opinion I am the more confirmed since the
year 1580, when such exquisite diligence has been used by our Spaniards
in the monastery of St. Gisleno, near Mons de Henao in Flanders, to
verify whether the body of St. Leocadia, which they have there, is
that of our Saint. The result has been, that it was ascertained beyond
all doubt to be the same; since an authentic writing was found of the
person who carried it thither by favour of one of our earliest kings,
and he carried it from Oviedo without dispute; because, according to my
researches, it is certain that it was there. Now I affirm, that the king
who gave part left part also; and neither is that which is there so much,
that what we saw at Oviedo might not well have been left, neither is this
so much but that which is at Mons might well have been given.
“In the church below, in a hollow made for this purpose, with grates, and
a gate well ornamented, is one of the vessels which our Redeemer Jesus
Christ filled with miraculous wine at the marriage in Galilee. It is of
white marble, of an ancient fashion, more than three feet high, and two
wide at the mouth, and contains more than six _arrobas_. And forasmuch as
it is in the wall of the church of K. Alonso el Casto, and all the work
about it is very ancient, it may be believed that the said king ordered
it to be placed there.”—_Coronica General de Espana_, l. 13. b. 40.