What the fanega!

[Bert45]

The sign by the Cruz de los Valientes says: "Esta cruz recuerda una disputa medieval entre Santo Domingo de la Calzada y Grañón por la propriedad de una dehesa. Hoy, olvidadas esas antiguas demandas, hermana a ambas localidades."
However, a noticeboard in Grañón says (in English): "It is a well known fact that the quality of Grañón's fertile land caused disputes between its town council and that of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. One of the most famous incidents took place at the beginning of the 19th century, when a local from Grañón and another from Santo Domingo fought to the death for the right to retain ownership of an area covering some thousand fanegas (43,000 square metres) which was situated on a hillside leading down to Santo Domingo. ... " The French version of this story on the same noticeboard refers to the beginning of the 17th century ("au début du XVIIè siècle") and an area of "environ 450 hectares". [i.e. 4,500,000 square metres] According to Wiktionary, a fanega is about 6440 m². So 1,000 fanegas would be 6,440,000 m² which is at least in the same ball-park as 450 hectares. 43,000 m² could be a square with a side of 207.4 m – a fairly small field, hardly worth dying for. 450 hectares, on the other hand, could be a square with a side of 2.12 kilometres – worth arguing about, at least.
I brought this up partly to indicate that you can't believe everything you read, and partly to ask if there is any evidence that the story of the fight is true, and, if there is, when did the fight take place? Even the 17th century is not in the Middle Ages.

 

[dick bird]

According to the Santo Domingo de la Calzada albergue's website, there was a dispute between the two communities over ownership of a patch of land (at some unspecified time in the past) and it was decided to settle the dispute through an unarmed combat between two representatives, one from each village. S.D. de la Calzada recruited a professional champion, fed him up and on the day, oiled his body to prevent his opponent, one Martín García, a humble peasant from Grañón being able to grapple him. The wily García, however, overcame his might adversary using only his index finger. I leave the precise details of how he accomplished this to your imagination.

 

[Pelegrin]

area covering some thousand fanegas (43,000 square metres) which was situated on a hillside leading down to Santo Domingo. ... " The French version of this story on the same noticeboard refers to the beginning of the 17th century ("au début du XVIIè siècle") and an area of "environ 450 hectares". [i.e. 4,500,000 square metres] According to Wiktionary, a fanega is about 6440 m². So 1,000 fanegas would be 6,440,000 m² which is at least in the same ball-park as 450 hectares. 43,000 m² could be a square with a side of 207.4 m – a fairly small field, hardly worth dying for. 450 hectares, on the other hand, could be a square with a side of 2.12 kilometres – worth arguing about, at least.
I brought this up partly to indicate that you can't believe everything you read, and partly to ask if there is any evidence that the story of the fight is true, and, if there is, when did the fight take place? Even the 17th century is not in the Middle Ages.

Yes, 1000 fanegas = 43.000 m2 is a big mistake because a Castilian fanega is 6459,6 m2 and in La Rioja must be similar to this. The fanega is variable depending on the region. In Extremadura is 6400 m2, in Galicia is.variable from 2500 to 4000 m2 more or less. The rule is the less fertile terrain is the bigger fanega .

 

[Tincatinker]

Students of the arcanities of the Camino may enjoy this earlier thread: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/cruz-de-los-valientes.71162/#post-948621

 

[malingerer]

Students of the arcanities of the Camino may enjoy this earlier thread: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/cruz-de-los-valientes.71162/#post-948621

And there was me thinking a fanega was a sort of version of the fandango, a dance I am unreliably reported on as being the result of being bit on the arse by a chigger! What literary wonders lie as yet to be discovered on this forum!

Samarkand