townspeople

About the Text

The Gesta Berengarii is an anonymous account of Berengar of Landorra’s actions during the revolt of the townspeople of Santiago de Compostela. He was archbishop of Compostela from 1317 until 1330; the rebellion occurred from 1318 to 1320, in the wake of his appointment as archbishop.

The text begins with a brief biographical sketch, outlining Berengar’s family antecedents, youth, education, career advancement, and appointment as the Master of the Dominican Order in 1312. Five years later, Pope John XXII informed Berengar of his new appointment as the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, a post he was reluctant to take. “Agreeing unwillingly and under compulsion,” as the Gesta informs us, Berengar set out for Spain.

Upon arrival, Berengar met with the various political leaders of Castile, including the young king Alfonso XI and his tutors: his grandmother María de Molina, his grand-uncle Infante Juan, and his uncle Infante Pedro (“Infante” is a Spanish title roughly meaning “Prince,” denoting someone of royal lineage).

Translation: Excerpts from the Gesta Berengarii

He [Berengar] finished this [i.e. speaking with the Infantes Juan and Pedro about an imminent campaign in Granada], and was honored greatly and lavished upon by the Infantes and tutors, especially Don Juan. With his apostolic authority, he had granted dispensation to Don Juan and his consort Dona Maria, as well as to their son Don Juan and his consort Dona Isabel, for their illicitly contracted marriages. He obtained from the aforesaid tutors [Juan and Pedro] letters which he had requested regarding matters touching on his church and especially regarding the lordship of the city of Compostela, which King Fernando, in the time of his predecessors, had judged with a definitive sentence to pertain exclusively to the aforesaid church and archbishop. He then left Zamora, although still sick, towards Galicia and Compostela, his city, and set out on a direct route. He arrived at Melide, a place of his church, which is one day’s journey from Compostela, on the day of St. Martin. He was not yet restored to full health, and he delayed for some days.

In this place, the Infante Felipe came out to meet him with his consort Margarita, promising much in words but doing little in deeds, as the course of events would later demonstrate. With the help and aid of the unfaithful vassals of the church, Alfonso Suárez and the aforesaid Felipe, at that time mayordomo, the citizens of Compostela, imbued with an evil spirit against the church and the archbishop, (and who later would be made contrite by virtue of God and the apostle James), “reared their horns” [Ps. 75:4], completely denying the lordship of the town of St. James to the archbishop and the church.

This traitor Alfonso had the church of St. James under his custody along with its alcazar and the castles of Rocha Forte, Rocha de Padrón, the Torres do Oeste, and Xallas with the promise that he would return them to the archbishop upon arrival. In Melide he returned the aforesaid castles but refused to return the church with the fortress, despite being obligated by a sworn oath.

Description of the following sections: When Berengar arrived in Santiago, he was barred access to the city by its inhabitants. He tried to make deals with Infante Felipe and the townspeople but was unsuccessful, so he excommunicated everybody. When that also did not work, he besieged the town. Berengar eventually gave up on his siege. The townspeople, Alfonso Suárez de Deza, and Infante Felipe offered a deal, which turned out to be a trap:

Various deceitful agreements were made and confirmed by sworn statements and oaths that Alfonso would restore to him the church with its fortress and that the citizens would surrender the gate called la Pena to one of his vassals, through which his people would be able to enter and exit and bring in supplies and weapons as they wished. The man of God, not fully realizing the wickedness of their intention, entered the city and church [i.e. the cathedral of Santiago] with his people and troops on Sunday the 16^th of September as permitted by the aforesaid treaty under many other conditions not treated here. He was led by the Infante [Felipe] and Alfonso and received by the citizens with the appearance of reverence and honor.

But once he had entered, they wished to pile evil upon more evil, and they did not wish to hand over the gate to the vassal. Rather, they violated all the established treaties, closed the gates of the city, and totally denied supplies to him and his people. They besieged the pious father and his people in the church night and day and attacked them with various types of weapons. In this fighting many were wounded and even killed, and such was the lack of supplies that many were compelled to eat meat from their horses and other foods to which they were unaccustomed.

The man of God was not disturbed by this in any way, nor was he changed from his constant proposition. Although he could have avoided it, he never wished to accept agreements with negative consequences for himself or damaging to his church. He chose to expose himself and his men to death rather than to lead the church commissioned to him into anything detrimental to its honor. 

Meanwhile, by the will of God and with the help of the virtue of his apostle wishing to offer his hand to his minister, he [Berengar] agreed to a reasonable enough treaty with the Infante [Felipe], Alfonso [Suárez de Deza], and the citizens on the 27^th of September (the 12^th day of his siege). Since the weather was intemperate, he left the church after the sun had set and, tired and aggrieved, he arrived at the castle of Rocha Forte at a late hour. Then he went to the Rocha de Padrón and remained there for a few days. Then, he betook himself to his town of Noia, resting there and celebrating the first clerical council that he held. At this council, he deprived all clergy both in and outside of the city and also Alfonso and other knights who had obtained rents or benefices from the church. He deprived the adherents of Alfonso and the citizens, public or hidden, of rents and benefices and publicized the deprivations at the synod. He had already dispossessed them before at Bonaval, the convent of the Friars Preacher, while he was there during the aforementioned siege of the city.

Description of the following sections: Berengar received an invitation to visit María de Molina, so he left Galicia. She convinced Infante Felipe to stop supporting the rebellious townspeople of Compostela and to agree to episcopal lordship over the town. Berengar returned to Santiago de Compostela. He, Alfonso Suárez de Deza, and the townspeople agreed on a new deal, which would hand over the town to Berengar. But before the deal became official, the townspeople and Alfonso traveled to the castle of Rocha Forte and tried to add more stipulations to the deal. They were still at the castle when the truce expired:

But the next day, the day on which they were supposed to hand over the town, the truce between the archbishop and the citizens was going to expire unless they turned over the town. The said traitor [Alfonso Suárez de Deza] made his way towards Nendos but, in order to cover up his malice, he went to the pious father at Rocha Forte before he took the road. The holy man was in the chapel of St. Euphemia with his chapter and some of his vassals, having said the mass which he was accustomed to say with great devotion and copious tears. Then the said traitor arrived with many of the council and added many new terms to those which were agreed upon and promised on the previous day, just as he had often done in all the agreements and pacts which had been made between them in the past.

When the man of God heard this, he was very amazed and surprised and said, “As far as I can see, there will never be an end to these types of treaties as long as they are continually changed, despite having been spoken and promised by you yourselves. For yesterday, at a late hour, everything which we asked for was conceded, under a promise and a pact. And unless you fulfill those things which you promised today, the truce which was made between you and us will expire. And since you will neither have completed any of them nor, as seems obvious, do you intend to complete any of them, you will have come here outside of the truce. Leave from this chapel, and I will deliberate with my chapter and my vassals about your new demands.”

When he heard this, a certain knight who was his mayordomo followed [Alfonso] out of the chapel. When he heard and was completely certain that the truce that had been made was expired at that time, and knowing that his father and lord [Berengar] would in no way profit from treaties of this sort, but rather that he was being strung along by the diabolical traitor by vain and utterly false promises and words lacking any fruit at all, he ordered (with the man of God totally ignorant) the gates of the castle to be shut firmly and guarded diligently. He called all the shield-bearers and other men of the household who knew how to use arms, along with those from the field who lived in exile outside the town of St. James and all, both clerical and lay, who had served the aforementioned man of God loyally in the said war and other situations, and those whom the profane man had exiled or caused the deaths of their friends and families. He ordered them to arm themselves quickly and fortify themselves so that the outcome which the aforesaid father and lord could not achieve by smooth words and treaties beneficial only for the said citizens and the traitor, he would be able to obtain with blades, swords, and manly deeds.

Why should I delay more? God neither permitted nor wished him to tolerate the betrayals and malicious acts of the wicked men and vile traitors any longer, and he wished the man of God to obtain rest after many labors tolerated with patience on behalf of the defense of the rights and liberties of his much afflicted and troubled church. For his most virtuous patron the apostle James presented his many fervent prayers, frequent groans, and internal sighs before his golden altar. He also wished for the basilica of the most holy apostle, so long separated and deprived of its spouse and the owed service and office of its minsters, to be released from the excrement of these mockeries imposed by the minister of Satan.

Therefore when the aforesaid men were armed and with the virtue of the blessed apostle directing them in all things, divine justice and revenge fell upon the aforementioned minister of Satan, the traitor Alfonso, and his accomplices.

The end of the story: With their leaders dead, the townspeople at last agreed to a truce. Berengar took control of Santiago de Compostela. He built a tower to fortify the cathedral.

References

Fourteenth-century manuscript containing the Gesta Berengarii, GREDOS (Gestión del Repositorio Documental de la Universidad de Salamanca), Ms. 2658.

Díaz y Díaz, Manuel, et al., ed. and trans. Hechos de Don Berenguel de Landoria, arzobispo de Santiago [Gesta Berengarii]. Santiago de Compostela: University of Santiago de Compostela, 1983. Latin edition with facing translation in Castilian.