The Interpretation Center of the Blesseds of Tábara, in Zamora, It reaffirms itself as a place of reference for scholars and the curious, students and tourists interested in learning regarding and enjoying the history of medieval codices.
These are manuscripts of the Commentary on the Book of the Apocalypse of Saint John, which in the year 776 illuminated Blessed of Liébana, abbot of the Santo Toribio monastery in the Liébana valley, in Cantabria.
Alfonso III El Magno sent San Froilán at the end of the 9th century to found the monastery of San Salvador in Tábara, a monastery that, according to research, was inhabited by up to 600 monks and nuns.
In it was located the Scriptorium Tabarense where some of the codices of the High Measured Age that have been preserved to this day were made: Beato Morgan or Magio, Blessed of Tabara and Blessed of Girona.
Its magnificent location is the Romanesque church of Santa María, built on the remains of the monastery destroyed by the raids of Almanzor, in 988, a time when the Muslims looted land in Zamora and burned down its monasteries. The Tabares temple, consecrated to worship by Bishop Roberto de Astorga in 1137, was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument on June 3, 1931 and is currently a BIC (Well of Cultural Interest). Its interior and chancel were renovated with the support of the Marquis of Tábara back in 1761.
Worth seeing and admiring on every visit to the town of Tábara: “The Tower, extremely original, built in silica slate with simple masonry rigging, has a square floor plan with three bodies demarcated with simple imposts on the outside. On each face of the upper body there are several bent semicircular arch windows”. The upper part is Romanesque from the 12th century, while the lower part would be more primitive from the 9th century “all of which retains a clearly defensive aspect”.
World Heritage
A magical and unique place where you can discover up to 5 of the unique and unrepeatable 21 medieval codices that are currently preserved throughout the world (those of Tábara, Morgan, Gerona, Huelgas and Valcavado): declared by the Unesco as a World Heritage Site.
The Tábara Beatus Interpretation Center has now incorporated a facsimile of the Valcavado Beatus made in the monastery of Nuestra Señora de Valcavado in Palencia, –illuminated manuscript copied by the monk Oveco at the request of Abbot Sempronio–.
This bibliographic jewel was made in only three months, from June 8 to September 8 of the year 970, thus being contemporary with the Blessed of Tábara.
Donation
The donation has been made by the University of Valladolid, whose rector is Antonio Largo Cabrerizo and vice-rector Carmen Vaquero López. The original of Beato de Valcavado It is kept in its library “Historical of Santa Cruz”.
It is written in round Visigothic letters with annotations in the margin, the work of master Oveco, its author, a relevant miniaturist of that time such as the Tabarians Magius, Emeterius and Sennior; and other notes made in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Initially it had 230 pages, of which 14 disappeared, with 87 high-quality miniatures, where the influence of Magius is noticeable, with double-page miniatures and the use of very bright colors such as red, blue and yellow. In 1918, a song in Galician dedicated to the Virgin Mary, dating from the 13th century, close to the songs of Alfonso XII the Wise, was discovered among its pages.
The church of Santa María already houses five facsimiles, including the three made in the Scriptorium Tabarense, highlighting the Beatus of Tábara. It is one of the most precious miniatures not only in Spain but in Europe) completed on July 27, 970 by Emeterius, a disciple of painter and calligrapher Magius who might not finish it, when he died, being buried in the majestic tower .
On one of its pages, the tabarense scriptorium was reproduced with the “alta et lapídea” tower of the San Salvador monastery, in which three people appear in full activity: one preparing the pages and the other two, Sennior and Emeterius writing and illuminating the codex.
New York
To him is added the Blessed of San Miguel, first born in Huelgas, from Tábara and who is currently in the Library “Morgan” of New York in the United States.
The third, from the year 975, is the Gerona Beatus (donated to the Girona Cathedral in 1078), the work of Emeterius, Sennior and Ende, the first female artist on the Iberian Peninsula with a work signed: “Painter and servant of God”. It consists of 568 two-column folios and 114 miniatures, some even double-page, which makes him the blessed with more illustrations than those that are preserved.
The fourth is the Beatus of Las Huelgas, which was one of the copies that were made of the Beatus of Tábara, completed in September 1220, commissioned by Lady “N” whom its author called “Always generous with God and with the men” who “stretched out his hand to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Blessed John the Evangelist.”
It might be Sandra García, the abbess of Las Huelgas, although Queen Berenguela was always thought of, whose parents Alfonso VIII and Leonor founded the monastery for women dedicated to the Virgin. The origin of it might be in the Huelgas, of San Pedro de Cardeña and that was counted as a model with the Blessed of Tábara.
The Beatus of Tábara Interpretation Center is open to the public from Tuesday to Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For those who do not know the town of Tábara, it is very easy to locate since it is located in the church of Santa María, which stands out with its “high and stone tower” and this is right in the John Williams square, in the middle of the highway. National 122.
Managed by the City Council of Tábara, whose Municipal Corporation is chaired by Mayor Antonio Juárez Núñez, the center has financial aid to cover the costs of the technician, from the Tourist Board of the Zamora Provincial Council.
The American John Williams was one of the great scholars of the tabarense scriptorium and The square of the church of Santa María is dedicated to him, where the ashes of the scholar originally from the United States rest.