The Huesca Bell Legend
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The legend describes how Ramiro II el Monje (The Monk), King of Aragón, cut off the heads of twelve nobles that didn't obey him. The story is very common in Aragonese tradition.
[edit] The legend
After Alfonso I died in 1134 leaving no descendents, his brother Ramiro II of Aragon, bishop of Roda de Isábena, inherited the Kingdom of Aragón, one of the states of the Iberian Peninsula. At that time the kingdom had serious domestic and foreign problems.
The San Juan de la Peña Cronicle (also known as the San Chuán d'a Peña) from the XIVth Century tells how Ramiro II became so concerned about his nobles abusing his patience that he sent a herald to the Abbey of San Ponce de Tomeras to ask for advice from his former master.
The herald was shown the Abbey garden where the old monk removed the heads from roses that stood out from the rest (in other versions of the story, the roses are replaced by cabbages). The herald is then told to tell the king what he has seen.
After the heralds return, Ramiro II sent a message to the chief noble, saying that he wanted help in order to build a bell that could be heard all over the Aragonese Kingdom. As the nobles arrived, the king cut off their heads, building a circle with the heads, with the chief nobles head suspended as the bell clapper. The result was then shown as an example to others.
[edit] Reference Books
- ALVAR, Carlos y Manuel ALVAR, Épica medieval española, Madrid, Cátedra, 1997. ISBN 8437609755
- LALIENA CORBERA, Carlos, La campana de Huesca, Zaragoza, CAI (CAI 100, nº 69), 2000.
- SORIA ANDREU, Francisca, «Preliminary Study» to: Lope de Vega, La campana de Aragón, Zaragoza, Institución «Fernando el Católico», 2001, págs. 5-70. ISBN 84-7820-755-4
[edit] External links
