It is not the first time that I invite you to accompany me to this typical little town, with medieval connotations, semi-forgotten in the foothills of that Old Castile, which today, more than ever, is related to the royal León: Maderuelo.
But it is the first time that I have invited you to enter its old Romanesque church - so reformed, it is also true, to the point that it could perfectly pass through a time capsule where a multitude of styles, designs and architectures- and live, inside, part of the medieval superstitions that marked milestones, beliefs, traditions and fantasies, of what History -or at least, many historians- agreed to call 'the Spanish Black Legend'.
Leaving aside the formidable legend of the ghost of the executed Constable of Castile, Don Álvaro de Luna - I assure you, that there are still people who come to Maderuelo looking for the fabulous treasure, which, it is said, he hid in some unknown place in the town, centuries after the last Grand Master of the Templars, who were also here, disappeared at the stake, as evidenced by the hermitage of Vera Cruz and centuries before the creation of the Linares reservoir flooded a wasteland in which they could very well have hidden amphorae full of gold, similar to those treasured by the vain Leprechauns of Irish legends- the other singularity of Maderuelo, which very few know, revolves around the mysterious mummy that has been lying in this church for centuries.
A church, on the other hand, that welcomes occasional visitors - an appointment must be made in advance - with one of the most interesting and, unfortunately, also the most unknown works of art, of the many that are hidden in the churches and hermitages of many Spanish towns, far from the gaze of the general public: a pictorial work by Gabriel de Sosa, executed at the end of the 15th century and representing a Holy Supper.
Indeed, under the Latin motto of 'Desiderio Desideravi, hoc pascha, mandvcare vobiscvm, ante qvan patiar' (the words of Christ to his disciples, according to the Gospel of Luke, 22,15 and which translated, come to mean 'how much have I wanted to eat this Easter with you, before suffering'), there are many art historians, who recommend looking at the hands of the different characters, which would make up a hidden message, which I inform the fans of Cryptography, for if it is of your interest.
But returning to the subject that concerns us and that introduces us fully into that rich world of legend and superstition, of which Spain was, without a doubt, worthy heiress until well into the 20th century, the most disconcerting thing that this place hides -of which we could make a simile of the cryptic message that the mysterious abbot of Rennes-le-Chateau, Berenguer Saunier, left in his Sainte Madeline church: 'terribilis locus iste' or 'this is a terrible place'- is the corpse mummified, but perfectly visible through the glass of her coffin, of an enigmatic young woman, of whom absolutely nothing is known, but about whom the richest and most varied legends revolve.
It is not difficult to guess, judging by the quality of the dress in which she was buried, that the young woman possibly belonged to a noble family -speculating, she could even be related to the family of the aforementioned Constable of Castile, Don Álvaro de Luna- but except that detail, absolutely everything about her is unknown.
Either because in the past, both traditions and superstitions were communicated by word of mouth -it is unfortunate to say so, but Spain was always a country of illiterate sufferers- and it has been lost over the generations or, because certain data, perhaps disappear for convenience, the point is that only the people, always faithful to the magical voice of the legends, have woven some around his figure, being, possibly, the most accepted, the one that was perhaps the background of many medieval legends, narrated ad nauseam throughout the length and breadth of Spanish territory: that of the jilted maiden who died of love for me when she was abandoned by a seducer, a theme, moreover, related to other European medieval works, such as, for example, a splendid medieval anonymous, 'The devoured heart', which numerous writers, including modern ones, echoed.
It is also said - unlike in other cases, where disturbing the sleep of the dead leads to terrible curses - that whoever puts their hands on the glass that acts as the lid of the mummy's coffin will experience a certain positive energy.
In this regard, and although I have never considered myself superstitious, I do tell you that I did not comply with tradition, because I have always had in mind a curious phrase of Jesus, which up to now has never disappointed me: 'To God what what is Caesar's belongs to God and to Caesar'.
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The Holy Supper, by Miguel de Sosa: enigmas of the past
