The (fully titled in la, De rebus gestis D. Didaci Gelmirez, primi Compostellani Archiepiscopi) is an anonymously-written historical chronicle based on the relation of events by a writer in the immediate circle of
Diego Gelmírez
Diego Gelmírez or Xelmírez ( la, Didacus Gelmirici; c. 1069 – c. 1140) was the second bishop (from 1100) and first archbishop (from 1120) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, modern Spain. He is a prominent fig ...
, second bishop (1100–1120) then first archbishop (1120–1140) of Compostela, one of the major figures of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
in Galicia. The narrative of the ''Historia Compostelana'' spans the years 1100 – 1139, the years of Gelmírez' tenure, in three books. Its twofold central agenda is to extol the Archbishop's doings, while establishing the foundation and rights of Santiago de Compostela, including its founding legend, which provided
apostolic
Apostolic may refer to:
The Apostles
An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission:
*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles
*Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...
connections with
Saint James the Great
James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...
. The
bishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
had been transferred from
Iria Flavia
Iria Flavia or simply Iria in Galicia, northwestern Spain, is an Ancient settlement and former bishopric in the modern municipality of Padrón, which remains a Catholic titular see.
History
Located at the confluence of the Sar and Ulla river ...
to Compostela as recently as 1095.
From a Galician perspective the ''Historia'' recounts the reigns of the contemporary sovereigns of Castile:
Alfonso VI
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
(until 1109),
Urraca Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female first name. In Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to collec ...
(1109–1126) and
Alfonso VII
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
(from 1126). "A very complex work of multiple authorship, it must be used with care, for it is essentially an episcopal gesta of Diego Gelmírez, bishop and then
historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
it is unique for narrating contemporary events, utilizing documents inserted in the text, giving it great historical value.
Notes
Further reading
*Reilly, Bernard F. "The 'Historia Compostelana: The Genesis and Composition of a Twelfth-Century Spanish 'Gesta," in '' Speculum'' ''44'' (1969): pp 78–85
*Vones,Ludwig, ''Die 'Historia Compostelana und die Kirchenpolitik des nordwestspanischen Raumes'' (Cologne, 1980)
*Falque, Emma, "The Manuscript Transmission of the 'Historia Compostellana," in ''
Manuscripta
The Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library in St. Louis, Missouri is the only collection, outside the Vatican itself, of microfilms of more than 37,000 works from the ''Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana'', the Vatican Library in Europe. It is locat ...