Terradillos de los Templarios (Palencia) (0)

Did you know that... Terradillos de los Templarios

It is located on a small promontory on the border of the provinces of León and Palencia, in a small valley of the river called Templarios. The history of Terradillos de los Templarios dates back to the 6th century AD. It is in the late Roman period on the Peninsula when it is documented the existence of a small Roman villa or settlement but with little historical value. In the Middle Ages, Castile experienced a movement of repopulation, not being less Terradillos de los Templarios, because next to it and in the path of the river Templarios a villa with the name of Villares was established.

A little more history

In the vicinity of Terradillos there were two places, today uninhabited, of which there are no visible remains, which had their importance on the Way of St. James, one of them the hospital of San Juan, which is mentioned in itineraries Jacobean XVI and XVII centuries and the other is known as the convent of the Templars, which maintained its facilities until the seventeenth century, when its decline began. Terradillos was the jurisdictional place of the Order of the Temple, there is evidence that King Alfonso VIII of Castile donated Terradillos to the Order of the Temple in the year 1191.

To discover What to see in Terradillos de los Templarios?

The houses of Terradillos de los Templarios are made of brick and adobe and its parish church dedicated to San Pedro, not wanting to be out of tune with them, is a simple brick temple with a reduced interior in which a 14th century image of the crucified Christ stands out. One of the shelters in the village bears the name of the last master of the Order of the Temple who was burned at the stake by the French king.

Festivities

Terradillos honors its patron San Pedro the Apostle on June 29. And San Isidro, patron saint of farmers, is also celebrated on 15 May.

Traditions

It was customary in the towns of Tierra de Campos that the shepherds represented in the Mass of the Rooster, the night of Christmas, a Christmas auto-sacramental known as La Pastorada or Corderada. Based on the canonical and apocryphal Gospel, they represented the announcement, from the angel to the shepherds, of the birth of the Child God and as they were going to adore Him and offer Him the presents that they carried in their pouches, and, as a central act, they offered a lamb of the flock in gratitude for the favors received during the year. This tradition seems to date back to the eighteenth century, with the shepherds themselves in charge of representing it, since it was one of the few seasons of the year, due to their office, in which they could attend religious acts. La Pastorada, after an exhaustive preparation, was represented again in Terradillos in the Christmas of 1984.

Curiosities

The last Grand Master of the Order of the Temple, Jacques Bernard de Molay, was forced to confess under torture his heresy and sacrilege against the Holy Cross, and although he later retracted, he was burned at the stake in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in 1314 and it is said that as the flames consumed him he cast the next curse on those guilty of the conspiracy:
"God knows who is wrong and has sinned and misfortune will soon fall upon those who have condemned us without reason. God will avenge our death. Lord, know that indeed all those who oppose us will suffer for us." "Clement, and you too Philip, traitors to the word given, I summon you both before the Tribunal of God!.... To you, Clement, before forty days, and to you, Philip, within this year..." And it seems that the curse was fulfilled because in that same year Pope Clement died, and King Philip IV.

The Legend

There is a legend in Terradillos that says that in the past there was a parish in the locality, that of San Esteban, today non-existent, whose parish priest carried a golden egg to Santiago de Compostela every year, but one of the years, the compostelano chapter decided that he did not want just one egg but that the hen be brought to him. So that they could not take it with them, the Templars of the area buried it in a place in the surroundings, a place that the locals have traditionally located in Alto Torbosillo. This hill can be seen if on the Way the pilgrim turns his gaze to the right. There are many theories that attribute the art of alchemy to the Templars, but the curious thing is that the hen has been associated since time immemorial with the golden and precious metal. On the same Jacobean route there are other places associated with the Temple where the hen is also supposed to be buried.