The so called castle of Aguas Mansas (which could be translated as castle of Calm Waters or Quiet Waters) is a remarkable medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, which is in an excellent state of conservation, located in the municipality of Agoncillo in La Rioja, Spain. It was built during the 13th and 14th centuries. The coat of arms of the House Medrano with the Calatrava Cross can be found of the eastern facade, sign of its Dominion and its most recent historical ownership. The monument complex is right now occupied by the

Town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and other Agoncillo Town Departments and can be visited -always after booking the aforementioned dependencies- on working days during the opening hours of the administration.

History

The

Codex Vigilanus The ''Codex Vigilanus'' or ''Codex Albeldensis'' (Spanish: ''Códice Vigilano'' or ''Albeldense'') is an illuminated compilation of various historical documents accounting for a period extending from antiquity to the 10th century in Hispania. ...

mentions the conquest of a Muslim castle in this in this area by Sancho Garcés, king of Pamplona at the beginning of the 10th century. Subsequently, several documents of the 11th and 12th centuries name a fortress called ''Aguas Mansas'' (Calm Waters) or ''Aguas Muertas'' (Dead Waters) and draw the attention to the high quality of its defences. This may be the cause this site was so coveted and in 1191,

Alfonso VIII Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...

reached an agreement with Pedro and Gómez García about the state surrounding lands. In 1337 Rodrigo Alfonso de Medrano, crossbowman of Alfonso XI, bought the village and the castle and started carrying out several remodelling works adapting it to the style of the 14th century. In his testament in 1345 he noted having spent big amounts of money in ''"...building the castle and the village"'' (in Old Spanish "...fazer el castillo e la villa"). During the battles between

Peter the Cruel Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for ...

and

Henry of Trastámara Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother Peter the ...

, the castle passed onto the hands of Charles II of Navarre, although for a short period. In 1392, it was owned was Rodrigo Alfonso de ''Algoncillo'' (sic.) who bequeathed it to his nephew Diego López de Medrano and to his heirs, the Counts of Siruela who inhabited it until the 19th century.

Architecture

The floor plant of the castle is almost rectangular with four prism-shaped towers on each corner whose machicolations are still preserved to the current day. Built with

dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and finished (e.g., trimmed, cut, drilled, ground, or other) to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements. A ...

s and in two stages, the first in the middle of the 14th century over a former building and other at the end of the 15th century. The highest tower hast four floors and a door with a pointed arch. The smallest tower, called ''de las palomas'' (of the doves), has some well preserved

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

s which supported the machicolation. The parade ground, restored in the 16th century, has a

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

shape, is built at two levels and the gallery of the main floor rests on

semicircular arch In mathematics (and more specifically geometry), a semicircle is a one-dimensional locus of points that forms half of a circle. The full arc of a semicircle always measures 180° (equivalently, radians, or a half-turn). It has only one line o ...

es. An integral restoration was carried out in 1990, removing some removing some utilitarian rooms created in the 18th and 19th century returning it to its former appearance.

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguas Mansas, Castle of Castles in La Rioja