Publications
Anthropological History of Medieval Castile
The anthropological history of medieval Castile reveals that the Castilian vowel system emerged as a confluence of multiple cultural influences, including Basque-Iberian, Roman, and Christian traditions. This finding challenges traditional narratives of linguistic origins and deaths by emphasizing continuous cultural adaptation and reinterpretation. The study focuses on significant textual artifacts like the Emilian Glosses (950) and Silos Glosses (second half of the 10th century), particularly folio 72r of Em 60, which provide critical insights into Iberian proto-Romance. Additionally, the research examines the social hierarchy established during the repopulation efforts led by medieval monarchs, highlighting the contrast between favorable legal conditions for inhabitants and feudal dependencies in northern regions. The study also underscores the role of education in preserving Roman antiquity, noting Visigoth Spain as a notable manifestation of ancient culture.
After al-Manṣūr
A significant shift in Castilian art and governance emerged after the death of Muslim general al-Manṣūr in 1002, marking a period of relative isolation from Europe due to sustained conflict within the Iberian Peninsula. This study reveals how Count Fernán González's hereditary rule and autonomous yet subservient position to León laid the foundation for Castile's distinct identity. The research focuses on art produced between c. 970–1030, analyzing surviving sites in Burgos—such as Cardeña, Covarrubias, and San Millán de la Cogolla—and comparing them with neighboring regions like Soria and the Kingdom of León. Sculptural fragments provide evidence of additional structures, offering insights into Castile's unique artistic and political development during this transformative era.
Network and Radial Layouts for Visual Representation of Knowledge Graphs for Cultural Heritage Conservation-Restoration Activities
A novel approach to analyzing knowledge graphs for cultural heritage conservation reveals that combining network and radial layouts enhances the visibility of critical links, aiding decision-making. This study applied adjacency matrix analysis to count indirect relationships between nodes, providing deeper insights into the graph's communicative, semantical, and mathematical dimensions. The methodology compared these layouts using the San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries as a case study, demonstrating their complementarity in uncovering meaningful patterns within conservation-restoration data.
New Perspectives and Usual Challenges: Present Technologies for Document Management in Architectural Heritage Conservation-Restoration Works
A structured approach to document management in architectural heritage conservation, integrating a Catalogue of Document Typologies (CDT), Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM), and semantic knowledge graphs, significantly enhances the organization, visualization, and interrelation of dispersed documents. This method, demonstrated through a case study at the UNESCO-listed San Millán de la Cogolla Monasteries, improves standardization, collaboration across disciplines, and the formalization of conservation knowledge. However, challenges such as interoperability, dissemination, and reuse remain critical to fully realizing its potential.
Order and Disorder through the Eyes of Scribes and Illuminators in the Kingdom of Pamplona c. 970–c. 1000
Scribes and illuminators in the Kingdom of Pamplona (c. 970–1000) crafted illuminated manuscripts that reflected a deliberate imposition of order amid political instability, particularly during Córdoba's frequent attacks. Two notable legal codices—Codex Albeldensis (976) and Codex Aemilianensis (c. 992)—alongside exegetical works like the Beatus Apocalypse and Expositio psalmorum, embodied a neo-Visigothic identity through structured visual and textual elements. The study reveals that representations of natural order, such as cosmographical maps, contrasted with serpentine or hybrid creatures, interpreted as transgressions. These transgressions likely stemmed from deliberate distortions, symbolizing disorder. The analysis also explores divergent illumination styles—ranging from plastic to abstract—through the lens of Cassiodorus' textual framework, offering insights into how visual art and textual authority interacted in this turbulent period.
The Bullary as a New Type of Cartulary: The Example of Becerro III of San Millán de la Cogolla
Research identifies the Becerro III of San Millán de la Cogolla as a groundbreaking 'proto-bullary,' an early example of a cartulary type dedicated to preserving papal documents. This manuscript, dating back to the 13th or 14th century, predates the widespread use of bullaria by several centuries and represents a precursor to this specialized cartulary form. The study reveals that despite its artificial nature, the monks' compilation of papal privileges in the Becerro III can be recognized as an innovative approach to documenting ecclesiastical authority, foreshadowing the later diffusion of bullaria across the Iberian Peninsula. This finding advances our understanding of the typological diversity and evolution of cartularies during the medieval period.
Three Men in the Fire (×3)
Research reveals that the liturgy for Córdoban saints Faustus, Januarius, and Martialis deliberately associates them with the biblical three men in the furnace (Daniel 3) to emphasize their martyrdom under Islamic rule. The study identifies anti-Islamic polemical elements in the saints' passio, suggesting that the liturgical choices were designed to frame their story within contemporary Muslim-Christian tensions. By analyzing chants and prayers borrowed from another Iberian saintly trio, the research demonstrates how cultural associations with Daniel 3 were strategically leveraged. This finding sheds light on the political and religious motivations behind liturgical practices at San Millán de la Cogolla, a key site in the development of this tradition.
Documentary data collection: an initial step for information management in the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
A comprehensive documentary data collection system for the conservation and restoration of UNESCO World Heritage Sites can significantly enhance long-term safeguarding and unlock additional values. The study analyzes technical and administrative documentation from San Millán Yuso Monastery (Spain), highlighting gaps in information retrieval, classification, and description that hinder effective heritage management post-1997 declaration. By proposing a normalized classification chart and metadata framework, the research aims to bridge these gaps, ensuring scattered documents are systematically organized for future users. This approach not only supports efficient conservation but also facilitates new uses of archival data, addressing critical challenges in cultural heritage preservation.
The monks of San Millán: Investigating the transition between pre-monastic and monastic diet using carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in incremental dentine
A study of monks from the San Millán Yuso Monastery (17th–18th century) reveals distinct dietary transitions upon entering monastic life. Analysis of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in dentine and rib collagen shows two adult dietary cohorts: one with high meat/dairy intake alongside C3 plants, and another incorporating C4 plants. Childhood diet data from dentine suggests four monks transitioned from lower-status diets to monastic rules, highlighting the social diversity of early entrants (aged 7–8) and the influence of monastic orders on their later lives.
Un oficio inédito en honor de San Millán. En torno a la primera liturgia romana emilianense
A previously unknown liturgical office composed to honor Saint Millán, predating the Roman rite's introduction in Castile, has been critically edited from two 15th- and 16th-century breviaries of the diocese of Calahorra. This discovery sheds light on early liturgical practices at San Millán de la Cogolla Monastery (La Rioja), offering new insights into its hermeneutical context, production, and origin. The study employs a rigorous critical edition approach to analyze the office's contents, providing a foundational text for understanding the transition and adaptation of Roman liturgy in medieval Spain.
Written in Stone: Recovering the Magical Role of the locus sanctus in the Medieval Life of San Millán de la Cogolla
San Millán de la Cogolla's monasteries, particularly the cave-church of Suso, were central to enduring medieval beliefs in earth magic and supernatural marvels. Research reveals that Christian leaders deliberately integrated magical practices into architecture, rock-cut tombs, sculpture, and hagiographies, reinforcing the idea that caves, rocks, and relics possessed healing and visionary powers. Unlike traditional narratives emphasizing saintly relics, this study highlights how the locus sanctus—specifically the natural landscape and cave structures—dominated pilgrim devotion until the 12th century, when the valley monastery of Yuso redirected attention through royal and ecclesiastical influence.
Comparison of image techniques for the detection of graffiti in the cloister of the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla (Spain)
A study comparing advanced image techniques revealed that graffiti in the cloister of San Millán de Yuso Monastery, previously thought lost after cleaning works, could still be detected using raking light photography, short-distance convergent photogrammetry with image enhancement, Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), and structured-light scanning. These methods, applied in 2018, demonstrated varying effectiveness for identifying graffiti and assessing their conservation status, offering potential for combined use to preserve cultural heritage. The research highlights the importance of non-invasive imaging techniques in documenting at-risk artistic elements before irreversible damage occurs.
The Aemilian casket reliquary:
The Aemilian casket reliquary, dating back to the 11th century and originating from San Millán de la Cogolla Monastery in Spain, represents a groundbreaking example of a multi-functional religious artifact. Unlike traditional reliquaries, this object was designed to cater to diverse devotional practices, resonating with both monastic communities and lay worshippers under varying circumstances. Through a meticulous analysis combining art historical studies and medieval liturgical evidence, the research demonstrates that the Aemilian reliquary's form and iconography were purposefully crafted to engage different audiences, setting a precedent for similar objects that later became widespread across European monasteries. This study not only reconstructs the reliquary's original appearance but also highlights its innovative role in bridging visual imagery with contemporary religious practices.
"En palonbar criadas": Monastic Environment and Religious Identity in the Poema de Santa Oria
The Poema de Santa Oria, attributed to Gonzalo de Berceo, portrays Oria as an exemplary figure of medieval ascetic monasticism, emphasizing her life of reclusion, contemplation, and self-discipline within the Benedictine Monastery of San Millán de Suso. The study highlights how Oria's journey—from a young recluse to a symbol of spiritual devotion—reflects the monastic practices of the time, particularly in the context of Iberia's religious and cultural landscape. Through literary analysis, the research explores the poem's role in memorializing Oria's commitment to a life of renunciation, offering insights into medieval spirituality and the phenomenon of immurement among female recluses. The study also examines the dual structure of San Millán de Suso and Yuso Monasteries, linking their architectural and spiritual significance to broader historical processes, including the expansion of Christianity in Islamic territories.
Meyer Schapiro’s ‘Road not Taken’: San Millán de la Cogolla and Resistance to the Roman Rite
Research reveals that San Millán de la Cogolla offers unique evidence of resistance to the Roman rite following its adoption at the Council of Burgos (1080). Unlike Santo Domingo de Silos, where Meyer Schapiro previously identified visual markers of this resistance, San Millán preserves both written and material evidence. The study focuses on the Arca of San Felices and its Romanesque ivories (c. 1090), contextualizing them within broader political and religious shifts that threatened the cult of Emilian, the monastery’s patron saint. It argues that efforts to promote Felix, a local hermit linked to Emilian, constituted a form of resistance against the imposition of the Roman rite. This challenges Schapiro’s original thesis by demonstrating San Millán de la Cogolla as a more comprehensive case study for understanding this historical phenomenon.
Rebranding San Millán: the Becerro Galicano as a rejection of the monastery's Navarrese heritage (1192–95)
The Becerro Galicano, created at San Millán de la Cogolla Monastery between 1192 and 1195, represents a strategic rebranding of the monastery's identity. This cartulary deliberately downplayed its Navarrese heritage in favor of emphasizing Castilian origins to counter claims from the bishopric of Calahorra. The study compares it with its predecessor, the lost Becerro Gótico, revealing a shift driven by regional warfare and ecclesiastical politics in 12th-century Rioja. By analyzing textual content and historical context, researchers demonstrate how the monastery used legal documentation to secure its territorial claims through higher ecclesiastical authorities.
El culto a San Millán en Valderredible Cantabria: Las Iglesias rupestres y la formación del Camino de Santiago (review)
Research by Gregory Kaplan challenges the conventional narrative of the Camino de Santiago's origins, suggesting that pilgrimage to northern Spain predates the 9th-century discovery of Saint James's remains. The study links the cult of San Millán in Valderredible, Cantabria, to the formation of early pilgrimage routes, supported by evidence from the region's extensive network of cave churches—over fifty documented sites. Kaplan employs architectural analysis, focusing on Visigothic-era horseshoe arches and apse dimensions, to approximate construction dates, drawing parallels with other Visigothic churches. The research also compares two versions of San Millán's life, highlighting discrepancies that reveal later falsifications aimed at enhancing the monastery's prestige.
Spiritual and Biological Mothering in Berceo’s Vida De Santa Oria
Gonzalo de Berceo’s thirteenth-century poem, the Vida de Santa Oria, challenges traditional interpretations by revealing it as a dual vita that explores both spiritual and biological mothering. The work, centered on Saint Oria and her mother Amunna, demonstrates how Amunna's emotional attachment to Oria evolves from an obstacle to sanctity into a source of sanctity itself. This interpretation provides a feminine perspective on Christ’s admonition about familial attachments (Matthew 10:37), highlighting the complex negotiation of female bonds in the pursuit of holiness. The study employs close textual analysis to uncover this dual narrative, offering new insights into medieval spiritual literature and the representation of mother-daughter relationships within religious contexts.
Marginalia kot začetek pisane besede: Glosas Emilianenses
The Glosas Emilianenses, marginal notes from the 11th century San Millán Yuso Monastery, represent the earliest known written accounts of a Romance language precursor to modern Castilian Spanish. These annotations, blending Latin and vernacular elements, reflect the linguistic complexity of the Iberian Peninsula during the Reconquista era, where Moorish rule and Christian resistance created a unique cultural and linguistic environment. The glosses challenge linguists with their inconsistent phonetic, morphological, and syntactic features, offering invaluable insights into early Castilian language development. Despite their historical significance, systematic analysis remains incomplete due to limited material and the text's hybrid nature.
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