Legend of the Barcelos Rooster

The legend of the Rooster of Barcelos tells of the miraculous intervention of a dead rooster as proof of the innocence of a hanged man. It is known in Portugal as the Lenda do Senhor do Galo and has several versions, forming part of the medieval and Jacobean repertoire of legends or hagiographies of hanged men saved by the miracle of a rooster, in this case related to the Portuguese Way to Santiago de Compostela. The story is similar to the legend of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, with that of Barcelos being a late version of almost three centuries compared to that of the Codex Calixtinus. The oldest written text of the Portuguese version was published in 1867, by the clergyman Domingos Joaquim Pereira.

History

The legend is associated with a cruise raised between the 14th and 18th centuries in the town of Barceliños, municipality of Barcelos. It is known as Cruzeiro do Senhor do Galo (Cruise of the Lord of the Rooster) and it was transferred to the Pazo de los Condes, current Archaeological Museum of Barcelos. In it you can see engraved on one of its faces the figurative images of the hanged man, supported by his feet by the apostle Santiago, thus preventing his death. On the obverse there is a representation of the sun, the moon, the Virgin of Pilar and another saint. For some authors it is Saint Paul, who has local devotion and for others it is Saint Benedict for holding a staff or staff in his hand. right hand and an open book in the left. Above the monument, it ends with a crucified Christ between whose feet and the head of the hanged man appears the image of the miracle rooster.

During the validity of the New State, this legend was identified with the artisanal tradition of wheel roosters that had been practiced in Barcelos since at least the 1930s. Since then, in the popular imagination there has been an incorrect association with these very colorful ceramic pieces. Thus was born the myth or folklore that accompanies them and that the regime of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar popularized as a tourist attraction and symbol of Portugal.

This is how Carlos Almeida, chronicler of Barcelos, reflected this transformation:

The legend of the cruise of the Lord of the Gallo was known from a long time ago. Objectively until 1963, the same had nothing to do with geographical, chronological or mentally the figure of the ceramic rooster that the tourism launched and so much developed. In that year, F. Pires de Lima published a book on La Leyenda del Gallo de Barcelos y el Milagro del Ahorcado (Lisboa, 1963), followed by a local conference, where the author tested a comparative study of that narrative and affirmed the possibility that there would be a relationship between the rooster of legend and that of ceramics. It may seem, but so far there was no connection. But that was enough for part of the local population to believe it and the tourism agents and guides to disseminate it more. And the rooster that was already a Noen of the city of Barcelos and had little descent and even embarrassing because it was a simple phenomenon of the Barcelos and the tourism fair, remained with a desired religious origin. And so the myth was born.

Narrative

The legend tells the story of a Galician pilgrim who was leaving Barcelos (Portuguese city in the district of Braga) on his way to Santiago de Compostela, and who was accused of having stolen money from a landowner, for which he was sentenced to death. Gallow. As a last will, he asked to be taken before the judge, who was eating a roast chicken (a rooster). The pilgrim told him that, as proof of his innocence, the rooster would get up and start crowing. The judge pushed the plate to the side and ignored the man's words.

However, at the precise moment when the prisoner was being hanged, the rooster stood up and crowed. The judge, having realized his mistake, ran to the gallows and discovered that the Galician had been saved thanks to a poorly tied knot. According to legend, the pilgrim returned years later to sculpt the transept of the Lord of the Rooster that is now in the Archaeological Museum of Barcelos.