Research in the Monastery of Monsalud

Legend has it that the Catholic princess Clotilde was abandoned 531 years one night in the middle of forests Córcoles-Sacedón by her husband, the Gothic king Amalric, to be eaten as punishment for his alleged infidelity. The princess's devotion to the Virgin Mary, which I kept praying that they would be driven away from tear, it had been unleashed and fed until she could prove her innocence and her husband repented, decided to build a chapel.
A minimum real part seems to fuel the story, as the chronicles of the time reflected the continued mistreatment of which was the subject Clotilde by her husband and she felt contempt for refusing to convert to Arianism, being so finally was rescued by his brother Childebert you sent a bloody handkerchief to come and free her.
In any case the truth is actually around that time a small chapel stood on that later (around the year 1140) would be built which became the Cistercian monastery amount of Guadalajara; Monsalud, our final destination research.
Indeed Alpha Group members Córcoles tenure on a splendid morning of August after a disappointing previous visit to the ruins of St. Mary of Tendilla, heading quickly towards the monastery spurred on by the suggestive stories around it had documented and we talked about knights of the Order of Calatrava, healing the sick and possessed, and inquisitorial trials for "witchcraft."



Monsalud greets us with his "new chapel," which are carved in San Bernardo, San Benito and Bonanca and bearded God who holds the world in his right hand.
This chapel was apparently built in the S. XVII and the presence of two saints on the frontispiece seems logical. The first for its connection with the Cistercian order, which belonged Monsalud, and the fact that its first abbot (Fortun Donato), would have been a disciple of the saint. The second, by her profound connection to the fight against the "demonic" (St. Benedict is the patron saint of exorcists and medallion from 1641, approximately, is used in the practice thereof), as was seen until well Monsalud into the eighteenth century "hospital for rabies, the melancholy of the heart and the evil eye," having just reported that "men and women who were possessed of demons, entering the term of this holy monastery often make great extremes as one can not bear being in the land of the Mother of God. "



Since the "new chapel" We continue along the wall to get to what must have been a courtyard we found our first surprise. Stairs leading to ground what was the cellar of the monastery. Access is forbidden by a metal fence which nevertheless found that the basement has a central hall from which opened several galleries to the right and left. Later we knew precisely where supposedly there was Amalric would have erected the primitive chapel. Photographically documented the area, we performed temperature readings that show a differential of 16 degrees between the surface and crypt (35.9 abroad against 20.3 in the cave) and proceed as usual to make a record that after being Parafon later analyzed offered a disturbing result as with subtle but clearly discernible, seem to hear the crying and wailing of a child's voice.



After finishing round the perimeter of the monastery and inasmuch as the door was closed, we agree to it through the side wall of the south facade, moving through a long corridor to reach today revealed the cloister where they had found the graves of two of the Masters of the Order of Calatrava, Nuño Pérez de Quiñones and Sancho Fontova. Failing to find at that location but located two in the corridor linking the cloister with the chapter, we think that possibly it is that of the aforementioned because they are in the interior thereof and separated from another set of tombs is in an open gallery near the main entrance. Keep in mind that this documented the presence of Alfonso VIII in año1177 in the monastery, where he went to pray and rest after having reconquered the city of Cuenca as Christian territory, which together with the nearby location of the castle of Zorita de the Canes also recaptured by the monarch in the year 1169 and delivered in 1174 to Calatrava, we suggest that these tombs are what we wanted.


We photograph them as usual and let the recorder to record over them. On the way back we had obtained confirm some of the most striking parafonías in the history of Alpha Group. Comprobareis as one can hear clearly "Nosferatu" and the other the sound of a rifle shot followed by opening and closing the bolt. We can assure you that the silence, throughout our visit was sepulchral.



Completed this move to the chapter house and ascend to the upper floor, now being restored and which have spread some metal platforms to allow the transfer of one party to another. You can imagine the surprise we got when we learn that another of the records obtained can clearly hear "platform."



To conclude we descend into what the cover of access as we indicated above you is closed with a metal fence, is where we found the gallery and the tombs and there seems to a wall, the diffuse cross the order of Calatrava. Just remember the funny thing was that we just find a connection with another of the places visited by this group, particularly with the witches in Barahona Soria. Indeed Sunday Miras located his "The Witches of Barahona" in the Monastery of Monsalud. Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on a true story which the witch trials were followed by the Tribunal de Cuenca (to which belonged the bishopric of Sigüenza and the town of Barahona that fell within the diocese) between 1527 and 1530. Specifically in the municipal archives of Cuenca bundles consist of a series documenting the trials brought against a number of "witches" from nearby villages to the territory now occupied by swamps Entrepeñas and Buendia, who "town hall" with others from up and Aragon to celebrate sabbaths in the fields of Barahona. These women after being subjected to torture stated that "went at night in search of children to sacrifice," "that rubbed ointments made with wormwood, snake, wax, fish and dead child to fly" and that "invoking Lucifer, dancing with him. "That these women were burned is true, but not Monsalud.

We ended the day and left the monastery and lands Alcarrenian. But this is not a goodbye but a see you soon, as the nearby Zorita and Trillo are pending for a future visit.

Here you have the direct link to see all and hear all fotografís EVP we got in this awesome place:



thanks to all friends. excuse my English, I hope you liked it. Hugs to all