Ginés de la Jara
Encyclopedia
Saint Ginés de la Jara is a semi-legendary saint
of Spain
. He is associated with the region surrounding Cartagena
, of which he is co-patron
. A hermitage
was founded adjacent to the Mar Menor
, and ruins of a monastery
bearing his name date from before the Moorish conquest of 711 AD, that is, from the Visigothic era.
origins for the cult of Saint Ginés have been suggested, including identification with the cult of a Roman
genius
or with an Islamic jinn
; as well as with an ancient Carthaginian site dedicated to the god Ba'al. The subsequent association of the site with Christian hermits and anchorites is indisputable. It should be noted, however, that there is no actual tomb or sepulchre for Ginés: the location of his relics was a cause for the invention of multiple legends.
Some scholars believe the saint may be identical with Saint Genesius of Arles, in Spanish known as San Ginés de Arlés, who was martyred in the 4th century. His feast day is identical to that of Genesius of Arles, a connection that some scholars consider as proof that they are identical. According to Serafino Prete, the spread and popularity of Genesius’ cult in other cities of Gaul and beyond gave rise to the multiplication and “localization” of his cult, so that the saints Genesius of Alvernia, Genesius of Béziers
, Genesius of Rome
, Genesius of Cordoba and Ginés de la Jara are actually variations on the same saint and saint’s cult.
A legend that appears in a manuscript dating from 1243, Liber Sancti Iacobi, states that the martyr of Arles was buried at Arles but that his head was transported miraculously "in the hands of angels" to Cartagena. This may represent an attempt to explain the existence of the cult of the same saint in two separate locations. An additional variation on the legend states that after Ginés was decapitated
in southern France, he picked up his head
and threw it into the Rhône
. The head was carried by sea to the coast of Murcia, where it was venerated as a relic.
No definite dates regarding his birth and death exist. However, a vigorous set of legends surrounding him arose. He is believed to have sailed from France
around 800 AD and to have been shipwreck
ed on the Murcian
coast, where he established a monastery. Another legend made him a kinsman of Roland
. Ginés refused any claim to the throne of France. After his death, the coffin
bearing his remains were brought to France. However, they were miraculosusly empty when they arrived there; the relics remained near the Mar Menor.
Additional stories state that he went on a pilgrimage to Compostela, having various adventures on the way. On the hill known as Cabezo del Miral, he remained until his death. His fame grew and his sepulcher became a place of pilgrimage
. Miracles multiplied there.
rule (and was mentioned by Moorish authors). After the area’s conquest by the Castilians, Alfonso X of Castile
restored the bishopric and founded the monastery of San Ginés de la Jara (1250). The site of his monastery was officially declared a holy place and place of pilgrimage by Alfonso X. It was a Dominican
monastery before passing to the Franciscans.
The monastery, re-founded in 1491 and rebuilt in the 16th century, is the center of the cult of this saint. It is considered the resting place of his relics.
His cult has been described as essentially local, though it spread to nearby areas, such as Lorca
, Murcia, Orihuela
, and even North Africa
.
Ginés inspired great devotion, and he was considered by local vintner
s their patron. He was considered the protector of agricultural laborers and of the fields. Sailors also invoked his aid against storms. He was also invoked against illnesses and conditions such as hernia
s in children.
In 1541, Pope Paul III
officially canonized him. His feast day is August 25.
Around 1692, La Roldana made a polychrome
d sculpture of Ginés de la Jara (now at the Getty Center
).
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. He is associated with the region surrounding Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
, of which he is co-patron
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
. A hermitage
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
was founded adjacent to the Mar Menor
Mar Menor
Mar Menor is a salty lagoon, in the south-east of the autonomous Community of Murcia, in Spain, separated from the Mediterranean sea by La Manga, a sandbar 22km in length and with a variable width from 100 to 1200m....
, and ruins of a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
bearing his name date from before the Moorish conquest of 711 AD, that is, from the Visigothic era.
Historicity and legends
Pre-Christian or MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
origins for the cult of Saint Ginés have been suggested, including identification with the cult of a Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
genius
Genius (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion, the genius was the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every individual person, place or thing.-Nature of the genius:...
or with an Islamic jinn
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
; as well as with an ancient Carthaginian site dedicated to the god Ba'al. The subsequent association of the site with Christian hermits and anchorites is indisputable. It should be noted, however, that there is no actual tomb or sepulchre for Ginés: the location of his relics was a cause for the invention of multiple legends.
Some scholars believe the saint may be identical with Saint Genesius of Arles, in Spanish known as San Ginés de Arlés, who was martyred in the 4th century. His feast day is identical to that of Genesius of Arles, a connection that some scholars consider as proof that they are identical. According to Serafino Prete, the spread and popularity of Genesius’ cult in other cities of Gaul and beyond gave rise to the multiplication and “localization” of his cult, so that the saints Genesius of Alvernia, Genesius of Béziers
Béziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
, Genesius of Rome
Genesius of Rome
Saint Genesius of Rome was an actor who worked in a series of plays that mocked Christianity. One day while performing in a work that made fun of baptism he received sudden wisdom from God, realized the truth of Christianity, and had a conversion experience on stage...
, Genesius of Cordoba and Ginés de la Jara are actually variations on the same saint and saint’s cult.
A legend that appears in a manuscript dating from 1243, Liber Sancti Iacobi, states that the martyr of Arles was buried at Arles but that his head was transported miraculously "in the hands of angels" to Cartagena. This may represent an attempt to explain the existence of the cult of the same saint in two separate locations. An additional variation on the legend states that after Ginés was decapitated
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
in southern France, he picked up his head
Cephalophore
A cephalophore is a saint who is generally depicted carrying his or her own head; in art, this was usually meant to signify that the subject in question had been martyred by beheading....
and threw it into the Rhône
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
. The head was carried by sea to the coast of Murcia, where it was venerated as a relic.
No definite dates regarding his birth and death exist. However, a vigorous set of legends surrounding him arose. He is believed to have sailed from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
around 800 AD and to have been shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
ed on the Murcian
Murcian
-Places of origin:* Someone or something from the Region of Murcia: a single-province autonomous community in Spain* Someone or something from Murcia, Murcia, Spain: the capital of the Region of Murcia...
coast, where he established a monastery. Another legend made him a kinsman of Roland
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
. Ginés refused any claim to the throne of France. After his death, the coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
bearing his remains were brought to France. However, they were miraculosusly empty when they arrived there; the relics remained near the Mar Menor.
Additional stories state that he went on a pilgrimage to Compostela, having various adventures on the way. On the hill known as Cabezo del Miral, he remained until his death. His fame grew and his sepulcher became a place of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
. Miracles multiplied there.
Veneration
The spot of Ginés' supposed hermitage at the Mar Menor survived as a sacred site during the age of MuslimAl-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
rule (and was mentioned by Moorish authors). After the area’s conquest by the Castilians, Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
restored the bishopric and founded the monastery of San Ginés de la Jara (1250). The site of his monastery was officially declared a holy place and place of pilgrimage by Alfonso X. It was a Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
monastery before passing to the Franciscans.
The monastery, re-founded in 1491 and rebuilt in the 16th century, is the center of the cult of this saint. It is considered the resting place of his relics.
His cult has been described as essentially local, though it spread to nearby areas, such as Lorca
Lorca
Lorca is a municipality and town in the autonomous community of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 36 miles southwest of the city of Murcia. It had a population of 92,694 in 2010, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second-largest surface area in Spain with...
, Murcia, Orihuela
Orihuela
Orihuela is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 32,472 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006...
, and even North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
Ginés inspired great devotion, and he was considered by local vintner
Vintner
A vintner is a wine merchant. You pronounce it like this In some modern use, in particular in American English, the term is alsoused as a synonym for winemaker....
s their patron. He was considered the protector of agricultural laborers and of the fields. Sailors also invoked his aid against storms. He was also invoked against illnesses and conditions such as hernia
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
s in children.
In 1541, Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
officially canonized him. His feast day is August 25.
Around 1692, La Roldana made a polychrome
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
d sculpture of Ginés de la Jara (now at the Getty Center
Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...
).
Further reading
- John K. Walsh, “French Epic Legends in Spanish Hagiography: The Vida de San Gines and the Chanson de Roland,” Hispanic Review, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Winter, 1982), pp. 1–16.