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 a World 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 at Nájera, and they suffered greatly in the civil war between Pedro of Castile and Henry II of Castile. On Oct. 15, 1369, at the request of the directors of the small aljama 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/805

Suso 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 of Castilian 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 of Berceo which is associated with Gonzalo 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 of Muslim rule; and over the centuries, the religious community has overcome various vicissitudes which affected the monasteries (for example being sacked by the Black Prince). However the type of monastic life has evolved - the original monks living at Suso were hermits, but Yuso developed as a Benedictine community and is now Augustinian. As the UNESCO evaluation noted, San Millán shows the transformation from an eremetic to a cenobitic community in material terms. Today San Millán attracts pilgrims on the Way of St James (although it lies somewhat off the line of the official route [http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/santiago/spancmno.html] between Nájera and Burgos). 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]