Montemayor del Rio
Montemayor del Río is a Spanish municipality and town in the province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is integrated into the Sierra de Béjar region and belongs to the judicial district of Béjar.
Its municipal area is made up of a single population center, it occupies a total area of 15.30 km² and according to the demographic data collected in the municipal register prepared by the INE in 2017, it has a population of 272 inhabitants.
The town has an altitude of 677 m above sea level. The town of Montemayor is in the Central system, in the Sierra de Béjar. Located to the southeast of the province of Salamanca, very close to the province of Cáceres, its municipal area reaches the line separating the two provinces. To get to the town, both from the north and from the south, you have to take the N-630 or the La Plata highway, turning off at Peñacaballera. You have to travel seven km along a narrow and difficult local road.
The town is twinned with the homonymous town of Montemayor in the province of Córdoba. Montemayor del Río was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1982. Located next to the old Calzada de la Plata, during the Middle Ages it had jurisdiction over fourteen towns, after its council was created around 1227 by King Alfonso IX of León, who sought to reinforce demographically this strategic area of the Kingdom of León, which is why some of these villages dependent on the town today retain part of its name, such as Colmenar de Montemayor, Baños de Montemayor and Horcajo de Montemayor.
Etymology
The place name Montemayor del Río is a speaker, it describes the settlement of the town: Monte, elevated through which a river passes. The place name must have originated from the southern Leonese language and must later have been made into Spanish, being in the Middle Ages the place name Monti Mayó, with the typical features of said language. Until recently, Montemayor was written separately, the place name being Monte Mayor, without the del río, which was added so as not to confuse various locations in Spain.
Symbols
Shield
The heraldic shield that represents the municipality was approved with the following coat of arms:
«I hear a match. First, of silver with four waves of sugar, assorted by a mount of siple. Second, match in turn: First of gold with three strips of sigh, and second of gold with a purple lion. Tied of the Spanish Royal Crown»
Flag
The city council has not yet adopted a flag for the municipality.
Geography
| Northwest: Lagunilla | North: Aldeacipreste and Valbuena | Northeast: Port of Béjar |
| West: Lagunilla |  | This: Peñacaballera |
| Southwest: The Cerro | South: The Cerro | Sureste: Bathrooms of Montemayor |
Monuments and places of interest
Castillo de San Vicente: Montemayor has a medieval castle whose name is Castillo de San Vicente, recently restored. It is located on top of the hill on which the town sits. The entire enclosure was protected by a wall that reached the current Plaza Mayor. Inside the old walled enclosure. It has six towers, four of which are square and the remaining two are semicircular. This castle allowed passage from the southern sub-plateau (Extremadura) to the kingdom of León or to the kingdom of Castilla, since the silver road separated both kingdoms.
Plaza or old fountain (Pillory): The fountain whose central body is made up of a granite stone column from an old pillory or roll. On the column you can see the coat of arms of the Silva family, Marquises of Montemayor, the heads of four lions and, in the highest part, some human figures.
Stone bridge: The stone bridge, with only one eye, built over the Cuerpo de Hombre river around 1700. It was the private property of the marquis and subject to tollage.
San Antonio hermitage and cross: On the banks of the river and next to the stone bridge are the San Antonio hermitage and cross. The hermitage is dated around 1670 and was apparently built at the request of the Marquises of Montemayor. In front of the hermitage is the Cross. It is entirely decorated with half-grenades, possibly in commemoration of the capture of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs and in which Juan de Silva y Rivera, then lord of Montemayor, took part.
Church of Our Lady of the Assumption: Montemayor has a Romanesque church that transitions to Gothic. The church Our Lady of the Assumption from the 13th century is made of granite. The tower was later than the body of the church since it was made in the XVI century. Inside is the altarpiece of Renaissance origin, although it has been retouched on several occasions. The church is located like the castle within the walled enclosure.
Walls: Little remains of the walls today, because people began to use it as a wall to build a house or, they took granite stones to make houses. Remains are preserved in the rear of the castle, and on the sides of the castle square and the main square, with which two walls can be seen. One for the main square that also surrounds the castle square and one that only surrounds the castle square.
Plaza Mayor: The center of life of the town, without a doubt, is the town hall as well as some stately homes, the roll or pillory now converted into a fountain. Formerly it was paved and bullfights were held.
Plaza del castillo: There is the castle, the church and a very large square in which you can still see the remains of a kind of bullring, as well as the schools and the residence (former house of the guardian of Montemayor).
History
Old Age
The Roman conquest occurs approximately in 138 BC. C. as a consequence of the assassination of Viriato, at which time the Lusitanos, probably together with the Vettones, are defeated and the Roman troops pass to the north of the Central System. The route followed was that of the Camino (road) of La Plata, previously used by Aníbal in his incursion against the Vacceos, for which reason the region was surely an obligatory passage for the troops.
During the war that the uprising of Sertorio originated in the peninsula in these lands, Quinto Cecilio Metelo Pio (79-78 BC) arrived, establishing a solid line on the Camino de la Plata from Castro Metellinum (Medellín) to the passage of the Central System with the military post of Caecilius Vicus, which is located near the limit of Salamanca with Cáceres. Both places were founded by him and the latter became the most advanced stronghold. Later, the Roman road would be extended to the north, crossing the lands of Montemayor.
Middle Ages
Visigothic times
Towards the 5th century AD. C. the arrival of the barbarian peoples occurs and a period of instability and confusion begins in the peninsula, which is maintained until the domain of the Visigoths. Little by little there are some changes such as the conversion from Arianism to Catholicism by Recaredo and the elimination of the elective monarchy, which will give way to the Muslim entry.
The Alanos (from the Caucasus), the Vandals (of Germanic origin) and the Suevos, entered the Peninsula through the Pyrenees. This invasion was carried out with great ease and they occupied a large part of the peninsula, but this did not last long because the Romans, by order of the Emperor Honorius, sent the Visigoths to Hispania to subdue them all. Although they did not succeed with the Suevos, who will remain as an independent kingdom for 200 years.
Montemayor was located in an enclave where several roads forked, so it was between the Suevos and the Visigoths, although there are indications that it probably belonged to the latter.
Around 585 AD. C., the Suevos will be defeated by the Hispano-Romans and will finally be unified around 589, with their conversion to Christianity. It will be in the year 625 when the Peninsula is reunited, with the defeat and expulsion of the Byzantines, established in the southern area.
At the beginning of the 8th century the first Muslims appeared, who fought in the Battle of Guadalete in favor of the sons of Vitiza and against Rodrigo.
The Muslim occupation was rapid, and could be considered complete over most of the Peninsula around 714, when the capital of the Visigoths, Toledo, was taken.
Montemayor was probably under Muslim occupation, but since it was not homogeneous, there may have been empty spaces and quasi-independent communities in and around the town.
The Reconquest
The Reconquest of the Peninsula began in the north around the year 711, by Don Pelayo. The Christians began their expansion over the territory little by little, with hardly any Muslim resistance, either due to their inability to confront them or due to indifference. Ordoño II of León (914-924) crossed the border of the Cantabrian Mountains and established León as the capital of the Asturian-Leonese kingdom.
Ordoño II will participate together with Sancho Garcés I of Pamplona in the attack on Calahorra, which will provoke the reaction of the Muslims, specifically that of Abderramán III, who launch a destructive attack against the kingdom of Leon, managing to stop Christian expansion.
Finally, with Ramiro II de León (931-951) a great impulse was given to the border, moving it towards the south. The Christians managed to displace the Leonese border by defeating the Muslims in the Battle of Simancas (939), which passed from the Duero to the Tormes, repopulating those lands with Christians. The Muslims, through Almanzor, began a series of campaigns against the Christians, in order to prevent their advance. Part of their campaigns will be directed at the areas of repopulation and military colonization, using part of them from the axis along the Vía de la Plata road.
The Christians are not going to back down and by the hand of Alfonso VI of León (1042 - 1109) a great impulse is given, managing to advance to Toledo in 1085. Although the arrival of the Almoravids slows down their expansion, defeating them in Sagrajas and uclés. Alfonso VI will promote the repopulation and strengthening of cities and border councils with Muslims.
His daughter Urraca I of León succeeded him on his death and we entered a period of internal conflicts, after her wedding with Alfonso el Batallador de Aragón, which ended with the ascension to the crown of his son Alfonso VII. Alfonso VII of León "the emperor" (1105-1157) gave a new impetus to the conquest of the Salamanca area, initiating actions towards the south of the Central System, in the direction of Coria, which he conquered in 1142.
The formation of the Montemayor council
At his death Alfonso VII divided his kingdoms between his two sons. Fernando II was left with the kingdom of León and Sancho III was left with that of Castile, which would lead to discord between the two kingdoms, until the final unification with Fernando III.
But before this, Fernando II de León (1137-1188) made a great effort and consolidated his passage towards the south in the lands of Salamanca, a task that was concluded by his son Alfonso IX. Fernando II wanted to expand and for this he had two roads: the Dalmatian road to Coria and the Roman road of the Vía de la Plata. He could not use this last route due to a treaty that he had signed with his brother (Kingdom of Castile) to maintain the dividing line between both kingdoms. He therefore had the via Dalmatia. But this could be cut by the Portuguese, so he tries to reinforce it to be able to be used. In this way he creates the Council of Ledesma (1161), between Ciudad Rodrigo and Salamanca, which originates the rebellion of this council and leads to the confrontation of Valmuza, which ends with the victory of the king of Leon.
By being able to reinforce this road, it takes control of the Transierra (southern area of the Sierra de Béjar, Francia and Gata) and approaches Cáceres and Badajoz. The Almohads are going to react and in 1174 they relegate them again to the surrounding areas of the mountains.
At the end of his reign, the fortress of Granada appeared, today Granadilla, to the south of Montemayor. In this way, Montemayor is definitely within the territory of León, although we still do not know if it was inhabited.
Alfonso IX of León (1171-1230), son of the former, finished his father's work. Although he continues with tensions with the Portuguese, Castilians and Muslims, he manages to maintain his domain and even expand to the south. He is going to sign several treaties with his uncle Alfonso VIII to sign truces that will be difficult to maintain. And in 1215 Alfonso IX set the terms of the Council of Miranda del Castañar, within which Montemayor would be.
Finally, around 1228, that of Montemayor appeared as a new council, created by order of Alfonso IX of León, for which reason the repopulation of the area of the mountains seems finished. In 1230 Alfonso IX died and his son Fernando III el Santo succeeded him, who was already king of Castile and the conflicts between the two kingdoms ended. The Christian reconquest will take a gigantic step in a few years, with the occupation of Jaén, Seville and Córdoba.
Montemayor del Río and its council, remained inscribed within the kingdom of León, although just two km from Peñacaballera was the limit of the kingdom, which was separated by the silver road. To the right was the kingdom of Castilla and below was Extremadura, which was dominated up to Plasencia by the kingdom of Castilla and up to Ahigal by the kingdom of León, from below it was a Mozarabic zone. In Montemayor, the Leonese language was spoken, although with great interference from Castilian given its proximity to Béjar (then part of the kingdom of Castilla). This is where that peculiar language that exists in the Béjar region comes from, Castilian with great influences from Leon, adding the fact that it is so close to Extremadura.
Concejo de Montemayor - Current name (currently official), Name in Leonese (language formerly spoken in the marquesado, and official in his time):
- Aldeacipreste, (Aldeacipresti)
- Bathrooms, (Bañus)
- La Calzada, (La Calzá)
- Christopher, (Christobal)
- El Cerro, (El Cerru)
- Colmenar, (Colmenal)
- Horcajo, (Orcaju)
- Lagunilla, (Lagunilla)
- Montemayor, (Monti Mayó)
- Peñacaballera, (Peñacaballera)
- Valdefuentes, (Val de juentis)
- Valdehijaderos, (Val d'ijaerus)
- Valdelageve, (Val de la jevi)
- Valdelamatanza, (Val de la matançia)
- Valbuena, (Val güena)
The Manor of Montemayor del Río
There is evidence that in 1282 the infant Don Pedro, who was the son of King Alfonso X "el Sabio" and Queen Violante of Aragon. The infant Don Pedro was also lord of Ledesma, Cabra, Alba de Tormes, Salvatierra, Miranda del Castañar and Granadilla, and also owned the entire banks of the Coa River and the towns of Sabugal, Castelo Rodrigo, and Alfaiates, which are currently in Portuguese territory.
And on the death of the Infante Don Pedro, who died in October 1283, most of his dominions were inherited by his only legitimate son, Sancho "el de la Paz", who died in 1312 without leave legitimate descendants, so that upon his death all of them, including those of Montemayor del Río and Ledesma, returned to the Crown, in the last period of the reign of Fernando IV, who was a cousin by blood of Sancho el de la Peace.
Alfonso XI "the Justiciero" successively handed over the town of Montemayor del Río to some of the children he had with Leonor de Guzmán, and in 1358, Pedro I & # 34;el Cruel & # 34; he won her back once more for the Crown. But once again this situation will not last long because, as a consequence of the civil war he is having with his half-brother Enrique de Trastámara, Pedro dies and the new monarch begins to pay the debts with those who have helped him by delivering villas and grants. During the 17th century the Crown will try to recover them.
Enrique donates Ledesma and the five towns (Montemayor, Salvatierra de Tormes, Granadilla, Miranda del Castañar and Galisteo) to his brother Sancho, who will marry Beatriz de Portugal.
Sancho will die and his widow will be in charge of recovering everything for her daughter Leonor, who will be known as "la rica hembra". Leonor marries the infante Fernando de Antequera, with which an enormous territorial patrimony is formed.
Fernando will be king of Aragon and the patrimony will begin to be divided among the children in 1418, when Enrique is granted the Mastership of Santiago and, among others, will also receive the town of Montemayor. Finally, Montemayor loses its royal status and will pass the years as another noble manor until the 19th century, when they disappear. During this time there will be a change of hands, ceasing to be direct relatives of the monarchs and passing to the Silva family.
Infante Enrique, Lord of Montemayor since 1418, was an important character in the history of the Crown of Castilla y León since he tried to seize the effective power of the kingdom, taking advantage of the minority of Juan II, with the support of his brothers and other lords such as Diego Gómez de Sandoval Count of Castro. He will face Álvaro de Luna who ends up being his destroyer in the Battle of Olmedo. The battle is resolved with a victory for the royal troops and the infant flees although he will die as a result of war wounds in 1445. As a result of this, the distribution of the infant's assets and those who support him takes place. Montemayor seems to be passing to Pedro García de Herrera, Marshal of Castilla, although it is not entirely confirmed.
Since 1446 there is evidence that the lord of the town is Juan de Silva, since it is on that date that he leases the tercias and alcabalas of the same. Juan is a nobleman of a lineage settled in Toledo, although of Portuguese origin. This gentleman will serve Álvaro de Luna and will marry a cousin of his. He was ambassador of the King of Castilla y León at the Council of Basel (1434-36), where he had a curious episode with the ambassador of England, forcing him to leave his chair saying that his kingdom did not have the status to be ahead of the Crown of Castile and Leon.
When he died, he divided the assets into two estates. To his eldest son he gave the lordship and county of Cifuentes and to his second son, Juan de Ribera, he gave the lordship of Montemayor.
Territorial structure of the Señorío/Marquesado
There is evidence that in the XVIII century the Council of Montemayor, originally a lordship and later the Marquisate of Montemayor, was divided in two "quartos", those of Hojeda and del Río, and the town of Montemayor, which was located between them, a fact that seems to have been inherited from previous centuries. Thus, the structure of the Partido de Montemayor that is included in the division of Floridablanca is the following (the original denominations that they have in the 1789 document are included):
- Villa de Montemayor
- Quarto de Hojéda: Aldea-Arcipreste, La Calzada, Colmenar, Christoval, Horcajo, Val-buena, Val de hijaderos, Val de Fuentes.
- Quarto del Río: Baños, El Cerro, Lagunilla, Peña-Caballera, Val-del-agéve.
Modern Age
Juan de Ribera, second lord of Montemayor, will be a fighting character, participating in the Elizabethan side against King Enrique IV. The Catholic Monarchs sent him to defend the Navarra border against French interference, for which he would reside in Logroño for several years. He will also defend the interests of his family when problems arise between Silvas and Ayalas, in Toledo.
Juan de Silva, third lord of Montemayor, will be a prominent figure in the struggle of the Communities and will defend the royal interests in the Toledo region and at the end of his life Emperor Carlos I will reward his services by granting him the title of marquis of Montemayor, in the year 1538.
The Marquises of Silva will be the ones who hold all the authority in the town until the extinction of the lordships at the beginning of the XIX century. We will make a brief summary of what happened then: Montemayor was far from Toledo, the place of residence of the marquises, where they had their positions and valuable possessions, so the visits must not have been many.
Throughout the 16th century, the house of Montemayor went through a somewhat difficult situation due to the expenses that noble life entailed, such as the maintenance of houses, patrimony, servants, etc. For this reason, a double link is produced with the house of the Counts of Cantillana, very important in the future: Juan Francisco de Silva marries María de Toledo y Vicentelo, and his sister Teresa de Silva marries Juan Luis Antonio Vicentelo de Leca and Toledo, who will be the II Count of Cantillana.
One of Juan Francisco's brothers, Pedro de Silva, inherits some assets from his uncle Felipe de Silva, viceroy of Catalonia and the king will initially grant him the title of Viscount de la Sagra and later Marqués de la Sagra. But he will be involved in some strange events with Portugal, for which he will be accused of treason and executed in 1648, so that his assets go to the house of his older brother.
Montemayor was a transit area for the French troops and they were located in its vicinity to prevent the passage of the Portuguese troops that were approaching from Extremadura. Its towns were a refuge for inhabitants of the occupied or endangered towns, many from Alcántara, Coria, Zarza de Alcántara, etc. but up to her they could not reach.
In the middle of the century, this branch of the Silva family died out without heirs and the marquesate passed to a collateral line, the line of the counts of Cantillana, uniting the titles of Cantillana and Montemayor and Castromonte. They must cede one of the titles due to the imperative of the founding conditions of an estate, leaving the house finally formed by the Marquises of Castromonte and Montemayor. Subsequently they will be added by link to the house of Montemar and to those of Astorga and Altamira, encompassing various titles and grandeurs of Spain.
The Spanish War of Independence will be, as in many other places in Spain, a human and economic catastrophe that will leave the region impoverished. The towns contributed to the support of the Spanish and British troops, among which many men from the area served with their mules, since the mules became the main means of transport in the area. But they also had to contribute, by force, to the maintenance of the French army and endure its looting, robbery and violence.
Finally, another of the consequences of the war was the arrival of changes in the political system. The Constitution of 1812 (the famous "Viva la Pepa") proposed the abolition of feudalism and the disappearance of manors. The process is long, but in the case of Montemayor, which was a jurisdictional manor (the holder had the exercise of justice but was not the owner of the territory, only of those properties that he had acquired by purchase, etc.) it was soon resolved because The problem was in the ancestral estates due to the doubts raised about the ownership of the land. However, the Dukes of Montemar maintained their relationship and interests with Montemayor.
Lastly, with the creation of the current provinces in 1833, Montemayor del Río was integrated into the province of Salamanca, within the Leonese Region.
Demographics
| Graphic of demographic evolution of Montemayor del Río between 1900 and 2022 |
 |
Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute - Graphical development by Wikipedia. |
The town has been losing population due to emigration to large cities in Spain and to countries like Sweden and France. According to the National Institute of Statistics, Montemayor del Río had, as of December 31, 2019, a total population of 263 inhabitants, of whom 141 were men and 122 women. Regarding the year 2000, the census reflects 377 inhabitants, of which 204 were men and 173 women. Therefore, the loss of population in the municipality for the period 2000-2019 has been 114 inhabitants, a 30% decrease.
Culture
Gastronomy
In Montemayor it is typical on Sundays and holidays to go around the bars to have some tapas accompanied by something to drink. The most typical dishes of the town are battered potatoes, scrambled potatoes, pickled potatoes, Montemayor ratatouille, zarangollo, orange salad, hornazo, bolla and flowers.
Parties
- The main feast of the villa is celebrated on 14, 15 and 16 September in honor of the Blessed Christ of the Battles.
- The fiestas of San Blas, patron of the villa, take place on 3, 4 and 5 February.
- It is also a tradition to celebrate the feast of Saint Anthony, on June 13, in which the image of the saint is moved from the hermitage and in procession to the parish church. Stay in it until the day of Saint Peter.
- It is a tradition to go out to the picnic camp to celebrate the day of the bake, the calbots and the chorizo. On the day of the baking - a season of chorizo empanada - it is celebrated on Easter Sunday. The day of the calbots - roasted chestnuts- is celebrated on November 1st and the day of the chorizo on January 17th, the feast of San Antón.
- Since 2015, the pilgrimage is celebrated in honor of the Virgin of Montemayor, who brings together the localities of the region around this advocation of the Virgin of Moguer (Huelva).
Crafts
The entire town is surrounded by forests in which chestnut trees predominate. From there arose already in ancient times the dedication of the locals to the work of chestnut wood. Initially the artisans, called banasteros, made baskets of different sizes. With the generalization of plastic, the chestnut industry has been reconverted and currently all kinds of decorative elements are made. The artisan activity begins in the forest with the collection of the best young trees during the winter; of them, only a part of the trunk is used, using the rest for firewood. Then the wood is cooked in a generally underground oven and the sticks are wetted, if necessary, before moving on to the next phase, called cleaving. This consists of taking the sticks while they are still hot, as they are more flexible and manageable, and with the help of a knife and a mallet open the stick into increasingly fine strips, called verganchas. Once the verganchas have been brushed, we proceed to the braiding phase, which consists of intertwining them until a surface is obtained that will be the base of the basket. From there, work is done until the basket is closed.
Language
Today the only language spoken in the municipality is Spanish. However, the traditional language of the town and of the former Marquisate is Extremadura or the Leonese language. Many vestiges of this are still preserved, especially in the lexical and phonetic field.
Vestiges such as:
- The diminutive -no, -in. Example: Chiquinino, manina.
- The vocal closing. Example: Dispensa, burial...
- Léxico: Abangar, achiperres, pardal, gorrupendulo..
- Verbal forms of perfect. Example: I said, said, "We said, "jistis," they said.
- Article before possessive. Example: My house, your friends.
- Apparition of epathic yod. Example: Andancio, matancia.
- Elision of the genitive preposition. Example: The daughter (of) Carmen.
- Prosthesis in different circumstances: Amoto, root.
- Preposition insertion before adverb: Inside.
- Preservation of the medieval fonema /ð/ fruit of the distinction between s sorda and z sonora. It's a setback. The pronunciation of this fonema is between a Castilian z and a d: Cozina /koðina/, head /ka'Beða/,timeino /beðino/. But hunt /kaθa/, match /θeriλa/,
Among other features.
Tourism
In Montemayor there are guided tours of the Castle. You can also visit the chestnut tree interpretation center, located at the entrance to the town near the stone bridge, the Nuestra Señora de la Asunción church, the hermitage and soon a tahona. There are areas in the surroundings that are very interesting for tourists, such as Béjar, Baños de Montemayor, Hervás, Candelario, La Alberca, Miranda del Castañar, Barco de Ávila, Santibáñez de Béjar and Puente del Congosto.
Administration and politics
Municipal elections
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