The fortress-tower of Mesía is a fortification dating from the late 13th or early 14th century, located in the village of Pobra, in the Galician municipality of
Mesía
Mesía is a municipality in the province of A Coruña (province), A Coruña, in Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is part of the comarca of Ordes (comarca), Ordes. It has a population of 2,922 (Spanish 2011 Census) and an area of ...
. Since the 15th century, during the
Ancien Régime
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* the French word for " ancient, old"
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* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
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{{disambig ...
, the jurisdiction of Mesía for the
bishop of Santiago de Compostela
The Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela () is a Latin Church
The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Lati ...
was exercised from this castle. It was declared a
Bien de Interés Cultural
(, , , ) is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries.
The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense). It includes not only mater ...
on November 17, 1994, by the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
* Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
* Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
* Minister for the Arts (Australia)
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.
Description
The castle consisted of an inner walled tower, with exterior polygonal defenses, surrounded by a deep moat. Its current state of preservation is one of abandonment, and only part of the exterior defenses remains, which are rounded and reach a height of 18 meters at some points. The
keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
was much taller than the walls and likely had battlements.
History
The earliest historical records mentioning the castle date back to 1401, in a document by Gonzalo Díaz de Mesía, lord of this jurisdiction. Its name appears in an inscription that was on a lintel above the gate of the keep:
ESTA CASA FEZO D. GONZLAVO (Gonzalvo) DÍAZ DE MESÍA E SUA MOLER M(María) PRES (Peres)
Much of the castle was destroyed in 1467 during the
Revolt of the Irmandiños
Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
, but upon being abandoned by them,
Alonso II de Fonseca usurped ownership and restored it.
[Rodriguez Gonzalez, A.: ''Las fortalezas de la mitra compostelana y los “Irmandiños''. Volumenes I y II. Colección "Galicia histórica", Fundación "Pedro Barrie de la Maza". 1984] In 1858, the construction was still intact, but two years later, the poet Ángel Corzo, in a personal letter, remarked:
Two days ago I was in Mesía, I wanted to visit its ancient castle, and I found it destroyed by the pickaxe and the hoe of man.
File:Mesia5.jpg
File:Mesia1.jpg
File:Mesia7.jpg
File:Mesia2.jpg
References
Further reading
* Boga Moscoso, R.: ''Guía dos castelos medievais de Galicia'', Edicións Xerais, 2003.
* Soraluce Blond, J.R.; Fernandez Fernandez, X.: ''Arquitecturas da provincia da Coruña, Cerceda, Frades, Mesía, Ordes, Tordoia e Trazo''. Vol.XV, Deputación Provincial da Coruña, 1997.
External links
Urban Planning assessments, Mesía: Castillo, p. 4
{{coord, 43, 07, 05, N, 8, 14, 34, W, type:landmark_region:ES, display=title
Castles in Galicia (Spain)
Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of A Coruña
Buildings and structures in A Coruña