strange sign on the pillar in the cathedral of santiago

M

Martin 2016

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June 2016

• Jun 22, 2016

• #1

Hello,
I just have a question about these strange sign on the pillar in the cathedral of Santiago. Is there anybody who knows the story behind these special
signs.
Thanks
M.

 

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mspath

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• Jun 22, 2016

• #2

Martin 2016 said:

Hello,
I just have a question about these strange sign on the pillar in the cathedral of Santiago. Is there anybody who knows the story behind these special
signs.
Thanks
M.

Click to expand...

Martin 2016,

These are masons marks left by the craftsmen who constructed the cathedral.

For further posts regarding such marks in the cathedral but not necessarily these see these earlier Forum threads.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/mason-sign-in-cathedral.480/

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...rs-of-the-earth-and-camino-de-santiago.18034/

Wikipedia has a good overall description of the working methods of such craftsmen in medieval Spain. See in particular the section titled Stonemasons, anonymity and artists' signatures in https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesque_architecture_in_Spain.

Happy research and Buen camino!

 

Last edited: Jun 22, 2016

Stephen Nicholls

Steve Nicholls, Suffolk, U.K.

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• Jun 22, 2016

• #3

MSPATH may well be right - who am I to correct her? However, I have seen these signs repeatedly in southern Spain - they look remarkably similar to the 'indalo'.
The Indalo is a prehistoric magical symbol found in the cave of "Los Letreros" ("The Signboards") in Sierra de María-Los Vélez Natural Park in Vélez Blanco, Almería, Spain. It has been customary to paint the Indalo symbol on the front of houses and businesses to protect them from evil and is considered to be a god totem. The indalo has a Levantine origin and dates back to 2500 BC. The pictograph was named in memory of Saint Indaletius, and means Indal eccius (Messenger of the Gods) in the Iberian language.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indalo

 

mspath

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Frances, autumn/winter; 2004, 2005-2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

• Jun 22, 2016

• #4

Perhaps they are Indalo symbols Stephen. Or perhaps a simple crossbow. Whatever they represent they still would have been added by medieval craftsmen who constructed the cathedral! The multiplicity of such symbols is vast.

For a scholarly account (and superb bibliography) describing such marks in León and Santiago de Compostela see Therese Martin, Reading the Walls: Masons’ Marks and the Archaeology of Architecture at San Isidoro, León, in Church, State, Vellum, and Stone: Essays on Medieval Spain in Honor of John Williams, eds. T. Martin and J. A. Harris, Leiden, 2005. (Readable on-line).

 

Last edited: Jun 25, 2016

grayland

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• Jun 22, 2016

• #5

Mason marks, similar to those in the Santiago Cathedral, are found all over Europe.

 

grayland

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• Jun 22, 2016

• #6

The mason marks can also be seen on most (all?) of the older churches and building in old Santiago. I have walked around and looked for them in the past.

 

A

AJ

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• Jun 22, 2016

• #7

They can be seen in the mesquita in Cordoba as well

 

Sixwheeler

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• Jun 22, 2016

• #8

As everyone else has already said, they look like mason's marks.

 

Jeff Crawley

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• Jun 23, 2016

• #9

One says: "Welcome to Galicia, it rains here - you will need an umbrella"

Another says: "It can be windy - be careful your umbrella doesn't blow away" . . . .

Forgive me, jittery while awaiting the outcome of the European referendum!

 

Pelegrin

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• Jun 23, 2016

• #10

Jeff Crawley said:

One says: "Welcome to Galicia, it rains here - you will need an umbrella"

Another says: "It can be windy - be careful your umbrella doesn't blow away" . . . .

Forgive me, jittery while awaiting the outcome of the European referendum!

Click to expand...

I forgive you for your comments about the Galician weather (I'm also nervous about the result and I am Spanish).

 

navarro

Active Member

• Jun 25, 2016

• #11

Martin 2016 said:

Hello,
I just have a question about these strange sign on the pillar in the cathedral of Santiago. Is there anybody who knows the story behind these special
signs.
Thanks
M.

Click to expand...

Usually you can ee them in all old churches, not the same simbol, usually they area carver marks made to identify the work made for a group of carvers.