- San Millán de la Cogolla
San Millán de la Cogolla is a sparsely populated municipality in La Rioja, (
Spain ). It takes its name from a 6th-century saint (Saint Emilianus or "San Millán")) who lived here, and from the the shape of the surrounding mountains (the word "cogolla" means "hood"). The village is famous for its twin monasteries, Yuso and Suso, which were declared aWorld Heritage Site in 1997. There were 303 inhabitants registered in 2007, the population having fallen significantly during the twentieth century.The area is Spanish-speaking but some of the local place-names are of Basque origin, and there is evidence that Basque was spoken locally a thousand years ago (see "Glosas Emilianenses ").Jews were living here as early as atNájera , and they suffered greatly in the civil war betweenPedro of Castile andHenry II of Castile . On Oct. 15, 1369, at the request of the directors of the smallaljama of San Millán, whose cause was advocated by "certain Jews who were received at court," Henry II of Castile ordered that "the Christian men and women and the Moorish men and women" should immediately discharge all their debts to the Jews, "that the last-named might be able to pay their taxes the more promptly." On Sept. 10, 1371, however, the king released the abbot and all the monks of San Millán from whatever debts they had contracted with the Jews since the Battle of Nájera. [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=215&letter=S&search=san%20millan]History of the Monasteries of San Millán
Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries
State Party = ESP
Type = Cultural
Criteria = ii, iv, vi
ID = 805
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 1997
Session = 21st
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/805Suso is the older of the two monasteries, and one of its claims to fame is as the site where phrases in the Spanish and Basque languages were written for the first time - the codex in question was subsequently preserved in the monastery library at Yuso before being moved to its current location in Madrid. The phrases in Spanish and Basque are glosses on a Latin text and are known as the "
Glosas Emilianenses ". There is some debate as to whether the Spanish words are written in an early form ofCastilian or in a related dialect. In either case, San Millán's importance as a cradle of the Spanish language is reinforced by the proximity of the village ofBerceo which is associated withGonzalo de Berceo , the first Spanish poet known by name.There is a continuous history of Christianity at San Millán since the time of the saint. The
scriptorium remained active during the period ofMuslim rule; and over the centuries, the religious community has overcome various vicissitudes which affected the monasteries (for example being sacked by theBlack Prince ). However the type of monastic life has evolved - the original monks living at Suso were hermits, but Yuso developed as aBenedictine community and is nowAugustinian . As the UNESCO evaluation noted, San Millán shows the transformation from aneremetic to acenobitic community in material terms. Today San Millán attracts pilgrims on theWay of St James (although it lies somewhat off the line of the official route [http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/santiago/spancmno.html] betweenNájera andBurgos ). Part of Yuso monastery has been converted into a hotel.Online references
*en icon [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/805 Entry on the World Heritage website]
*es icon [http://cvc.cervantes.es/ACTCULT/camino_santiago/cuarta_etapa/san_millan/san_millan.htm Cervantes Centre]External links
* [http://www.monasteriodeyuso.org Oficial page monastery of San Millán de Yuso]
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