Nájera () is a small town, former bishopric and now Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

, former capital of the Kingdom of Najera-

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

, located in the "Rioja Alta" region of

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

, northern Spain, on the river Najerilla. Nájera is a stopping point on the French Way the most popular path on the Way of St James.

History

The area attracted the Romans, who built the town of ''Tritium ''on land which now falls within the boundaries of Nájera and the neighboring municipality of Tricio. Subsequently, the area was under

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

rule and the name Nájera (''Naxara'', meaning "town between the rocks") is of Arabic origin. The town, while still an Islamic possession, was the location of the legendary 3-day struggle between

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

, one of Charlemagne's nobles, and the Islamic giant Ferragut.Gitlitz & Davidson, The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook, 2000, St Martin's Press, The town was conquered by Ordoño II of Leon for

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

in 923. Nájera was the capital city of the Kingdom of Najera-

until it was conquered by Castile in 1054 after the battle of Atapuerca. However, it continued to be multicultural. For example, in 1142 the French abbot Peter the Venerable used his visit to Spain to commission translations of important Islamic works, including the first translation of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

into a European language, and it has been suggested he met with his four translators at Nájera. From the tenth century onward, Nájera had a prosperous

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community, which was granted relatively favorable legal status after the Christian conquest. Letters from the Jewish community in Nájera have been found in the

Cairo Geniza The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled the Cairo Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Judaism, Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the ''genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra ...

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II of England, Richard II, succession to the Br ...

fought in the

Battle of Nájera The Battle of Nájera, also known as the Battle of Navarrete, was fought on 3 April 1367 to the northeast of Nájera, in the province of La Rioja, Castile. It was an episode of the first Castilian Civil War which confronted King Peter of Ca ...

in 1367, intervening in a Castilian Civil War on behalf of Pedro I of Castile.

Ecclesiastical history

* Established in 923 as Diocese of Nájera, on territory split off from the suppressed Diocese of Calahorra. * Gained territory twice : in 1077 from Diocese of Pamplona and Diocese of Osma, in 1088 from the suppressed Diocese of Álava. * Itself Suppressed in 1170, its territory being used to establish the Diocese of Calahorra, to which its last incumbent was appointed.

Episcopal ordinaries

;''Suffragan Bishops of Nájera'' * Gómez (1046–1064) * Munio (1065–1080) * Sancho (1080–1087) * Sigefredo (1088–1089) * Pedro (1089–1109) * Sancho de Grañón (1109–1116) * Sancho de Funes (1118–1146) * Rodrigo de Cascante (1146–1170); later Bishop of successor see

Calahorra Calahorra (; ; ) is a municipality in the Spanish autonomous community and province of La Rioja. During Ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as ''Calagurris Nassica Iulia''. Location The city is located on a hill at an altitude ...

(1170–1190)

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored in 1969 as Latin

Titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of Naiera (Curiate Italian and Latin; Latin adjective Naiaren(sis) / Nájera (Spanish). It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank : * Patrick Vincent Ahern (1970.02.03 – death 2011.03.19) as

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York ...

(USA) (1970.02.03 – retired 1994.04.26) and on emeritate * Timothée Bodika Mansiyai, Sulpicians (P.S.S.) (2012.02.02 – 2016.11.19) as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Kinshasa (

Congo-Kinshasa The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

) (2012.02.02 – 2016.11.19); later Bishop of Kikwit (Congo-Kinshasa) (2016.11.19 – ...) * Bernard Edward "Ned" Shlesinger III (2017.07.19 – ) as Auxiliary Bishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta (USA)

Politics

Main sites

The church of Santa María la Real was founded by

García Sánchez III of Pamplona García Sánchez III (; 1012 – 1 September 1054),''Europäische Stammtafeln'': II #56, III.1 #145; Moriarty, ''Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa of Hainault'', p80, 109 nicknamed García from Nájera (, ) was King of ...

in 1052. It is the burial-place of kings of Navarre. The monks had to abandon the annexed monastic complex in the 19th century, as a result of the anti-clerical reforms of Juan Álvarez Mendizábal. Other sights include : * Bridge on the Najerilla river, rebuilt on Roman bridge foundations in 1090 by San Juan de Ortega and remade in 1880 * Excavations of the

Alcázar An ''alcázar'', from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in Spain built during Al-Andalus, Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for governmental figures throughout ...

(Moorish fort), abandoned in the 16th century * Monastery of Valvanera, from the town, built in the 11th century, but restored in Gothic style in the 15th century as it became a residence of queen

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

(Isabella of Spain). * Convent of St. Helena (18th century) * Najerillense Museum.

Notable people

* Felix Morga * Urraca López de Haro * Diego López II de Haro * Esteban Manuel de Villegas * Pedro González de Salcedo * Ángel Hidalgo Ibáñez

References

External links

GCatholic - ecclesiastical history

Najera Travel Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Najera Municipalities in La Rioja (Spain)