The old Benedictine monastery of Sant Pere del Burgal, located in Escaló, in the municipality of Guingueta d’Àneu, in Pallars Sobirà, is a perfect setting to explain a very interesting part of the history of the county of Pallars, especiallyciaespecially the one linked to the 11th century. The monastery has its origins in the 9th century and is mentioned for the first time in an immunity precept of Count Ramon I of Toulouse, obtained by the abbot Deligat in 859 and which certifies that the monastery came to be under the count’s protection. It is also known that in the 10th century there was a community of women, governed by the abbess Ermengarda, daughter of the count house of Pallars, and although it has hitherto been believed that they occupied the monastery in a short period of time, durant only ands or seven years, Cristina Simó, researcher, the interpretive guide of the Ecomuseu of the Valls of Aneu and one of the promoters of the historical dissemination project Joc de Dames, states that “probably, the female community was there much longer, although it is true that there were men again, because the references we have are always linked to the names of abbots”.
However, when Sant Pere del Burgal lived a golden moment it was during the 11th century, when the Romanesque church was built, of which a very important part is preserved today, and when some names of women appear related to it that should be recovered and value. The first would be Estefania’s, countess consort of Guillem II de Pallars, and the second that of Constança, first countess consort of Artau I of Pallars, son of Guillem. Most likely, Simó points out, one of the two was the driving force behind the construction of the church, a building with an apse and two apsidioles and with a double head, a very unusual fact. However, a third particularly important woman’s name also comes into play, that of Llúcia de la Marca, countess also after her marriage to Artau, one of the most relevant people when we talk about the history of Pallars during the 11th century and a key figure also when we talk about Sant Pere del Burgal, since she was the driving force behind the spectacular paintings that decorated the apse of the church In this sense, Cristina Simó remembers that “it was the women those who used to promote religious works. They are the ones who had the most faith and the ones who paid for the works.”
S’about the game
As it used to happen in the case of women of the nobility of the time, Llúcia de la Marca played an important role in the game of economic, political and territorial power. Cristina Simó recalls that, at that time, “marriages for love did not exist, they were a political card to be played. Weddings were an alliance, a truce or a pledge in the face of the loss of a war, for example”. In this case, Llúcia’s fate was marked by the fact that she was the sister of Almodis, countess consort of the House of Barcelona by her marriage to Count Ramon Berenguer, with whom they were the protagonists of a romance that shook the power balances of the time. With Llúcia, the younger sister, they saw an opportunity to improve their position, so they tried to marry her to William II of Besalú, in a move that was supposed to appease the disputes between the two count houses. A move that did not go well, as Guillem did not fulfill the marriage covenants and was murdered a few years later. The second move turned out better, with a marriage union that helped expand the influence of the county of Barcelona. Thus, Llúcia, in 1058, married Artau I of Pallars, a dark and very bellicose character who was excommunicated, among other debatable deeds, for appropriating the church of Santa Maria d’Àneu , who had a lot of income.
Artau did respect some marriage chapters beneficial for Llúcia, agreements that were most likely written by Almodis herself, Llúcia’s sister and great jurist. A union that from the very beginning highlighted Llúcia’s own management and judgment skills, who from the very beginning already began to sign documents together with her husband and who continued to administer and govern the territory alone once he he died Cristina Simó explains that “the work of the counts, at that time, was basically to wage war and administer justice, while the countesses, mainly the countesses consort, were in charge of administering the county. They dealt, for example, with the bridges and roads, and everything to do with diplomacy. They know very well what war is and they always try to make peace with it there are very few female conquerors, although there are also very few who start a war, but they all have military training and some even have weapons or war horses know how to launch an attack or defend against a siege, because when men went to war they were the ones who had to know how to defend the territory”. They were also very cultured women and mastered several languages, such as Latin or Arabic.
Redeem the past
Artau’s past plays a key role in some of the gestures Llúcia made during her term, especially to try to reconcile with the Church. Cristina Simó explains that one of the defining gestures was the return of St. Mary of Aneo. He also made several donationss, including the Monastery of Gerri de la Sal, and boosted the paintings of Sant Pere del Burgal, i most likely those of Santa Maria d’Àneu, because they are probably the work of the same workshop or of two very close workshops of the Byzantine school. Paintings that tell a lot of the history that was lived in Pallars, with Llúcia, Artau and their three childrens. Once mort Artau, as we said, Llúcia will mark the designs of the county and it will begin, says Simó, “a series of masterful and undisciplined political playsarare not an arrow”. So his son Artau will be thecounty heir, while he will direct Ot (who became a bishop i sant) towards the ecclesiastical race to sign an alliance for the forgiveness of Artau with the Bproof ofUrgell Finally, he will marry his daughter, Maria/Lucia (it was not possible to clarify what his exact name was), with Ermengol IV, count of Urgell, reinforcing at the same time the alliance with this county. The last yearys of her life, Llúcia lived astride the county of Pallars, where she ruled in full rights, and that of Urgell, where he was regent i ugly tutor, together with her son Ot, of little Ermengol V, when his parents died. Llúcia died around the year 1095, and until then she remained a reference figure in the county of Pallars.
A painting that demonstrates its power
The paintings in the church of Sant Pere del Brugal demonstrate the great power that Llúcia de la Marca came to wield, since, in an unusual fact, we find her image painted to the abyssthe sacred part of the church. Well in sight, dressed in elegant clothing, with a candle in hand and indicating with the gesture of albut she was the one who covered the cost of that church. An image that ensured that no one would ever forget his mercy and, above all, his power. The paintings we see today are a reproduction of the originals, which can be seen at the MNAC. As a whole as well you can see the images originals of dues figures that would correspond with Llúcia’s children, Maria/Lucia i Ot. And it is very likely that the figure of Llúcia’s husband, Artau, also appeared there. Some paintings that, according to explains Cristina Simó, they talk about of the fundamental aspects: the communication between the cel i la terra, i he sin and forgiveness In the upper dome, the figure of God is represented in full body, accompanied by the figures of the archangels Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel and the prophets Isaiah and Elijah. In the bottom strip there is variously representedes figures like Saint Peter, the Mother of God, St. John Baptista or Sant Pau. Below is the figure of Llúcia de la Marca, and it is believed that the image of Artau I would have been painted on the opposite side, whom they would have painted as a forgiven penitent, so it can be interpreted that the painting as a whole would be the representation of the forgiveness he achieved with the lifting of his excommunication. Finally, on the sides of the apse and on the top back, behind themrs studies point out that there would have been the representation of twenty-eight prophets.
Source: interactius.ara.cat
