While visiting Cuenca, I realised just how closely the history of this Spanish medieval town is tied to its legends. Let me tell you four of the most famous, featuring betrayed love affairs, bizarre military exploits, and macabre tales worthy of a Halloween story.
The Devil’s Cross
Among the many legends, let us begin with a classic, one that Cuenca could hardly do without: a tale filled with macabre elements and overwhelming passions. The story tells of the son of the judge of Cuenca, a handsome young man who might well have been the Spanish Don Giovanni of the Middle Ages. It seems his name was Diego, although several versions leave him anonymous, so we shall call him (Don) Giovanni. All the girls were in love with him and Giovanni, with very few scruples, moved easily from one to another. Until the day he met Diana, a foreign girl newly arrived in Cuenca, who immediately attracted the attention of the whole town. The young woman was not only extraordinarily beautiful, but also displayed behaviour that was, to say the least, far from proper.
Our Giovanni decides that this girl, too, must belong to him. And, trusting in his well-known charm, begins to court her passionately. The two spend time together but, to his great surprise, the girl seems uninterested in Giovanni’s attentions.
Time passes and the young man refuses to give up, becoming almost obsessed with this romantic failure. Then, on the night of All Saints’ Day, Diana invites him to meet her alone at the gate of the Hermita de las Angustias (Hermitage of the Anguish). Despite the ominous name of the place, the young man prepares eagerly for the meeting, hoping that Diana will finally yield to his persistence. The date is hardly advisable for a romantic encounter, and even his friends urge him to postpone it. Not even a rascal like Giovanni should be doing such things on All Saints’ Night. But Giovanni is beside himself with excitement. And despite the worsening weather and an obvious storm approaching, he goes out to meet the girl.
When Giovanni arrives at the hermitage, it is already raining heavily and thunder is rolling across the sky. But Diana is there, beautiful and elegant like a princess, and he does not hesitate for a moment before kissing her passionately. The atmosphere grows heated and clothes begin to fly as the storm worsens. A flash of lightning illuminates the sky and the young woman’s feet. And at last Giovanni notices something rather suspicious: Diana has goat’s hooves instead of Cinderella’s delicate little feet! He stares at her in disbelief and… what??? It is the Devil himself!
Diana, or rather the Devil, bursts into laughter while Giovanni flees in terror. Luckily for him, there is a cross nearby, and the young man clings to it, praying that God will save him from the demon. The Devil catches up with him and strikes at him with a claw. He narrowly misses, but the terrifying imprint of the Devil’s hand remains marked upon the cross. Then the Devil disappears, and the young man’s life is spared.
Juan shuts himself away in the sanctuary of the Virgin of Angustias and becomes a friar, monk, or hermit, the story is unclear on that point. In any case, from that moment on he leaves the respectable maidens of the village in peace. Meanwhile, the Devil’s imprint can still supposedly be seen upon the cross, which is known, naturally enough, as the Devil’s Cross.
The blind guard
It is the year 1177, and Cuenca is under siege by the troops of Alfonso VIII of Castile. Within the city walls is the Moorish alcaide Abu Beca, governor of the Islamic forces which at that time occupied much of the Iberian Peninsula. He’s waiting for reinforcements, but every day matters, because supplies for the citizens are running low and the army camped outside the mighty walls is eager to conquer the city.
And here enters the protagonist of our story: Martín Alhaja. Martín is a Christian shepherd working under Muslim rule alongside his fellow foreign shepherds. Their task is to graze sheep in the fields surrounding the city. Naturally, this is no easy work when Cuenca is under siege. And indeed, Martín gets caught by the soldiers of Alfonso VIII. He declares himself a Christian, one of their own. More than that, he claims that the Virgin Mary has appeared to him and foretold the fall of the city. Or perhaps she appeared to the king; the different versions disagree. In any case, the king believes the shepherd’s words.
Martín explains that shepherds like him move their flocks in and out of the city through the Aljaraz gate. That is nowadays known as the Gate of San Juan. Stationed at the gate is an old blind guard. Let us picture the scene: a city under siege and a blind guard watching one of its gates. Perfectly reasonable, apparently.
Martín proposes a plan somewhere between the Trojan Horse and the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau. The Aljaraz gate is fairly small, and the guard performs his duty “well”, counting and feeling every sheep that passes to ensure everything is in order. Here comes the stroke of genius: a couple of soldiers are to dress themselves in sheep skins, imitate bleating, and crawl on all fours for a few metres. The guard would inspect them, fail to realise that one of the “sheep” was in fact a man wrapped in fleece, and the soldiers would secretly enter the city.
Absurd? Not at all! That is exactly what they do. A few volunteers arrive at the gate led by Martín and surrounded by his flock. They crouch down, the guard notices nothing suspicious, and suddenly the soldiers are inside the city walls. The end of the story is fairly obvious: they wait until nightfall and disarm from within the garrison guarding the main gate of Cuenca. The Christian army enters and, within a few hours, retakes control of the fortress. We do not know what became of Martín and his sheep. But the blind guard is what makes the conquest of Cuenca my favourite legend!
Juliàn and Inés
Julián is the classic young man of tragic legends: handsome, poor, and deeply in love with the beautiful Inés of Cuenca, or Angustias depending on the legend version. Let us stick with Inés, simply because the name Angustias, meaning something like “anxieties”, already spoils the ending of the story.
In this legend, the two young people of Cuenca meet every day when she appears at her barred window and he courts her passionately from below. Inés, naturally, succumbs to the charm of the handsome young man, but although Julián works for a living, this is not enough for the girl’s parents, who want a suitor worthy of their social standing. To escape the stalemate, Julián enlists in the army in the hope of making his fortune and returning to his beloved crowned with glory and, ideally, with pockets full of money. The two swear eternal love before the cross of the Cristo del Pasadizo. Inés promises to wait for Julián’s return, and he promises to come back form war. Alive.
The wait becomes far longer than expecte and admirers surround Inés. Among the many young men courting her, Lesmes is the most charming and eventually attracts her attention. Unexpectedly, her mother reminds her that she ought to wait for Julián. But by then it is too late. Inés has little faith in Julián’s chances of survival, wishes to move on with her life, and begins seeing Lesmes.
Two years pass after Julián’s departure and, as we might expect, he finally returns, covered in glory and with his military career set before him. He plans to surprise Inés and therefore gives her no warning of his arrival. Instead, he goes as always beneath her window to wait for her, thanking the Cristo del Pasadizo for bringing him home safely. And indeed, there is a surprise. Because Lesmes also appears at the window, and Julián is understandably rather upset. He draws his sword and attacks the other suitor who, all things considered, is hardly to blame if Julián’s beloved turned out to be somewhat fickle. The two men fight. Julián stumbles on a step and falls, and Lesmes runs him through with the sword that has somehow magically appeared in his hand. After all, would you not also bring a sword to a romantic date?
Julián survives two years of war only to die after two hours in Cuenca. A truly tragic story. But the tragedy does not end there. Inés has witnessed everything and screams from the window for help. The town watch arrives just as Julián falls dead to the ground. Self-defence was perhaps not much fashionable at the time, and Lesmes panics and flees. He attempts to jump from the city walls down to the path below and, surprise again, lands badly and dies. If you visit Cuenca, you will quickly realise that “the path below” actually means falling dozens of metres into the void. Lesmes cannot have been especially bright.
Inés quite rightly feels guilty for the chaos she has caused, including breaking her promise to Julián and being indirectly responsible for the deaths of both former lovers. And what did repentant girls do in those days? They entered a convent. She spends the rest of her life seeking forgiveness for her sins and praying for the souls of the two unfortunate men.
The Witches of Mangana
Among so many legends, and being a medieval city, Cuenca could hardly be without one involving witches. So here we are, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, in the neighbourhood surrounding the Tower of Mangana. The neighbours begin to grow uneasy because, at night, they hear strange noises. Some say they are the screams of women, while others insist they have clearly heard invocations to the Devil. Fear spreads and the rumours multiply. Suddently there are sightings of witches flying through the air, perhaps on broomsticks, entering houses through chimneys, animals dying in courtyards, and mysterious knocks at doors and windows. One young man even claims to have witnessed a dance around a fire right in the open square beside the tower. To give an idea of the setting, the square by the tower was essentially the largest open space in the city, even if it did not included the usual church overlooking it. Had the authorities wished to investigate and intervene, it would not have taken them very long. But let us continue.
The neighbourhood falls into panic and decides to turn to the proper authority: the parish priest. Since Cuenca possessed a splendid Palace of the Inquisition, the classic witch hunt begins almost immediately. Suspicion falls upon a couple of women from the district. They were said to prepare love potions, remedies against misfortune, and other mixtures that were more or less medicinal. They were probably early herbalists, but innovation wasn’t greatly appreciated in those days.
The Inquisition goes to search for them in their homes. And here comes the twist: they have vanished! Perhaps a friend warned them in time and the women fled. Or perhaps they truly were witches and used their dark arts to disappear without a trace. Yet their presence continues to terrify the neighbourhood for some time afterwards. In the following weeks, a child disappears, a newborn baby dies, and, above all, an entire group of witches is supposedly seen flying above the rooftops of Cuenca, waving their black garments in the air and laughing wildly. For once, the witches have won!
You could also be interested in:
What to see in Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage City in Central Spain
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