After we freshened up, I went immediately to the Santa Domingo de la Calzada Cathedral, an imposing site built in the twelfth century. I got a stamp for my credentials and paid the three euro admission. Dennis decided to rest his road-weary feet in the hotel room.
The first part of the self-guided tour through the cathedral was more or less a tribute to Saint James and pilgrims. I thought this first little guy was really funny. I swear I have seen him on the trail.
The cathedral has many ornate Spanish side altars but the main altar is a very plain cross behind an equally plain pulpit.
Santo Domingo or Saint Domenic was known for a number of miracles including the healing of a French knight who was possessed by the devil, a German Pilgrim who was cured of an eye problem where his eyes ran pus and another blind individual whose sight was fully restored. Dominic is the patron saint of seniors so I said a prayer for all of us. He spent his life assisting the pilgrims enroute to Santiago.
The most famous story associated with this cathedral is The Hen and the Rooster Miracle. Legend has it that Hugonell, a German Pilgrim was walking the Camino de Santiago with his parents. They stopped to rest in Santa Domingo where he garnered the attention of the innkeepers daughter. It was love at first sight for the innkeepers daughter but the love was not returned by Hugonell. Enraged, the daughter, placed a silver cup in his backpack and accused him of theft. He was convicted and hanged. Weeks later, his parents having completed their pilgrimage and on the way back through Santa Domingo saw their son hanging but he appeared alive. He told them that Saint Domingo had brought him back to life and he tasked his parents to go to the Mayors house to ask for his release from the noose. The mayor, who was dining with friends, exclaimed, “That boy is as alive as these two roast chickens that we are about to eat’ and suddenly the chickens came to life, sprouted feathers and began to crow. Santo Domingo is known as ‘Santo Domingo of the Way, where the roosters crow after being roasted.” Inside this lavish, ornate gilded church was a wooden cage that housed a live hen and a live rooster. Above the cage was a piece of wood from the gallows.
If you look carefully in the cage above you can see the hen. I was brave enough to order chicken for dinner but lucky for me, the only way it flew off my plate was into my mouth.
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