San Millán Yuso and Suso
Monasteries (1997)
Spain
The monastic community founded by St Millán in the mid-6th century became a place of pilgrimage. A fine Romanesque church built in honour of the holy man still stands at the site of Suso. It was here that the first literature was produced in Castilian, from which one of the most widely spoken languages in the world today is derived. In the early 16th century the community was housed in the fine new monastery of Yuso, below the older complex; it is still a thriving community today.
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San Millán is located not far from Najera, with a famous convent of great antiquity. Jews were living here as early as at Najera, and they suffered greatly in the civil war between D. Pedro and D. Henry de Trastamara. 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 Najera.
Sources and links:
Other World Heritage Sites in Spain (on this site). Please refer to the UNESCO-listing, Spain-section, for further information on the individual properties.
Revised 19 jul 2007 |
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