Spanish views from a small town

Tolkien had to have gotten his idea of a magical ring from somewhere. Perhaps he heard of the legend of the nine bishops of Santo Estevo in Ourense, and their nine magical rings. Whether or not he did, the legend seems to have a basis in fact. Four rings were found in a bag in a reliquary by the monastery's altar during repairs. Santo Estevo is a restored monastery in the area of the Ribeira Sacra, in the province of Ourense. It is now a luxury hotel (enough so I can't entertain considering even one night's stay), but the main cloister and the church can still be visited. The first written reference dates from the tenth century, though a hermitage of sorts must have existed since much earlier.  The nine bishops arrived at the monastery fleeing the Moors. They were, Osorio, Servando, Froalengo, Isaura, Viliulfo, Vimarasio, Pelaio, Afonso, and Pedro. (Strangely enough, Isaura is now a woman's name.) They carried with them nine rings that had miraculous powers. Blind peopl...

Tonight is the original Samhain, and tomorrow All Saints' Day. Being where we are, in Celtic Galicia, we're very serious about the ancient traditions. We remember our dead these days, just as we've done for millennia and appreciate the Church's moving its All Hallows feast to the appropriate date back in the eighth century. That said, now we celebrate our ancestors by taking flowers to the cemetery, instead of leaving doors open and a plate of food by the fire. But we still frighten off evil spirits that might commingle with the good ones by carving pumpkins and squashes and setting candles in them.  Some years when I came on vacation, and talk got around to ghost stories, friends and I agreed to leave a tape recorder in the cemetery late one night to see if it would record any voices. We never did. We were too much in awe of the dead at night. It comes from too many centuries of folklore of the dead, such as the Santa Compaña in Galicia, which portends the death of ...

Spain is an old, old land. Many peoples of many beliefs have mingled together on thi s same patch of earth over the past two thousand years. The gods of one p eople become the demons of another generation. Hallowed priests transformed into demonic witches, forcing our ancestors to be w atchf ul of the Ev il Eye. Spells and curses acquired more power than prior blessings. Legends of witches' rings and aquelarres acquire d veracity and ha ve survived to ou r day. Even today in Galicia, older folk will vehemently beli e ve meigas still inhabit our midst. Unlucky people will discover eggs buried in their g arden an d know that someone wishes them ill. Others might s mell suspiciously of garlic, and will pull an amul e t garlic clove out of their pocket along with spare change, when they go to pay their groceries,. There are places here wher e witches used to g ather. The bell of the church at S an Salvador de Coiro, in Cangas, used to ring by itself on Saturday nights to ga...