The Legend of Sanabria Lake: A Tale of Magic and Mystery
Sanabria, a land rich in myths and legends, is known for its stories of witches, spells, and mythical creatures like the “llobu”. One of the most celebrated legends is the origin of the Sanabria Lake, a narrative that blends local history with supernatural elements and has endured over time, perhaps anticipating the real tragedy that occurred in Ribadelago.
The Origin of the Legend #
According to the legend, one day a pilgrim arrived in the village of Valverde de Lucerna begging for alms. However, the villagers, known for their lack of charity, turned him away. Only a few baker women, who were working in the village oven, took pity on him. They allowed the pilgrim to take shelter from the cold and offered him a piece of dough to bake. Surprisingly, the dough grew so much that it came out of the oven, a miraculous event that revealed the pilgrim’s true identity: Jesus Christ.
The man, displeased with the lack of compassion of the inhabitants, announced that he would flood the village as punishment. Then, he planted his staff in the ground and proclaimed:
“Here I plant my staff
here let a flood rise
here I dig my pickaxe
let a flood flow.”
As he spoke these words, a torrent of water sprang up, flooding Valverde de Lucerna and creating Lake Sanabria. Only the oven where they had baked the bread was saved, which today is known as the Island of Blackberries, the small island in the lake.
The Mystery of the Bells #
Another intriguing part of the legend tells of the attempt to rescue the bells of the submerged church. The villagers tried to pull them out using two well-fed oxen. However, one of the oxen, having been milked, did not have the strength to lift the bell, while the other, more robust, encouraged him:
“Pull, milked ox
since the milk was milked from you
by the wolf it was poured out
Come here, milked ox.
-I can’t, I’m milked, he replied”
Thus, the bell that could not be rescued remained at the bottom of the lake, ringing on St. John’s night, according to the legend.
Historical and Cultural Origins #
The legend of Lake Sanabria has its roots in ancient medieval tales and myths. In 1109, the French monk Aymeric Picaud recounted in the Codex Calixtinus, a guide for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, the exploits of Charlemagne in the Iberian peninsula. According to the text, Charlemagne destroyed three cities that resisted his conquest, cursing them to remain in ruins forever. One of these cities was Lucerna Ventosa, which was identified with a city submerged in a lake, similar to the legend of Sanabria.
Scholars believe that Picaud may have been inspired by the Swiss city of Lucerne, famous in the Middle Ages for a similar legend. It was said that Lucerne was built next to a lake that contained a submerged city, destroyed by Emperor Charlemagne. This narrative was adapted to the Spanish setting, probably through the connection between the Cistercian monks of the Carracedo Monastery, near Lake Carucedo, and the monks of the San Martín de Castañeda Monastery, in Sanabria.
The Transmission of the Legend #
The adaptation of the legend of Lucerne to Sanabria may have been facilitated by communication between the Cistercian monasteries in the region. In Sanabria, the story took on a more religious tone, with the pilgrim as a divine figure punishing the inhabitants’ lack of charity. This element of divine justice resonated strongly in the local culture, contributing to the legend’s persistence.
The legend of Lake Sanabria is not only an integral part of local folklore, but also reflects the cultural interactions and literary influences of the medieval period. It is a testament to the power of oral stories to shape the cultural identity of a region.