According to
Catholic tradition
Sacred tradition, also called holy tradition, Anno Domini tradition or apostolic tradition, is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to this theological position, sacred Tradition and Scripture form one ''deposit'', so sacred T ...
, Saint Amaro or Amarus the Pilgrim (, , ) was an
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
and
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...
who it was claimed sailed across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
to an earthly
paradise
In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
. There are two historical figures who may have provided the basis for this legend. The first was a French
penitent
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession.
The word ''penance'' derives ...
of the same name who went on a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
to
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...
in the thirteenth century. On his return journey, he established himself at
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...
, where he founded a hospital for
lepers
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...
.
Saint Amaro has also been identified with
Saint Maurus
Maurus, OSB (; ) (512–584) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic monk best known as the first disciple of Benedict of Nursia. He is mentioned in Gregory the Great's biography of the latter as the first oblate (religion), oblate ...
, disciple of
Saint Benedict
Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...
, who founded the first
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
in France.
Around the historical character of Saint Amaro converged many pagan traditions present in Asturias and Galicia related with Gaelic ''
immrama'' and ''
echtrai'', like ''
The Voyage of Máel Dúin
''The Voyage of Máel Dúin'' (Old Irish: ''Immram Maele Dúin'', Modern Irish: 'Iomramh Maoile Dhúin') is the tale of a sea voyage written in Old Irish around the end of the 1st millennium AD. The protagonist is Máel Dúin, the son of Ailill ...
'', ''
The Voyage of the Uí Chorra
''The Voyage of the Uí Chorra'' ( Irish: ''Immram curaig húa Corra'', literally, "the voyage of the coracle of the sons of O'Corra") is one of the three surviving Immrama, or ancient Irish voyage tales. The Immram curaig húa Corra is found in ...
'', ''
The Voyage of Snedgus and Mac Riagla'' or ''
The Voyage of Bran
The Voyage of Bran ( [], meaning "The Voyage of Bran [son of Febail]") is a medieval seventh- or eighth-century Irish language narrative.
Source
The date of composition has been assigned to the late 7th or early 8th century, and the text is kn ...
''. Many features of the Celtic
Otherworld
In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his desc ...
are present in the Periplus of Saint Amaro.
The Periplus of Amaro
Like
Saint Brendan
Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) is one of the early Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, and Brendan the Bold ...
, Amaro is said to have travelled on a journey that echoes that of the Irish ''
immram
An immram (; plural immrama; , 'voyage') is a class of Old Irish tales concerning a hero's sea journey to the Otherworld (see Tír na nÓg and Mag Mell). Written in the Christian era and essentially Christian in aspect, they preserve elemen ...
'' – the voyages to the paradisiacal islands of the West. An edition of the ''Life of Saint Amaro'' was published at Burgos in 1552.
His legend holds that Amaro was a noble Catholic from Asia who was obsessed with the idea of visiting the earthly paradise. With this goal in mind, he would inquire for more information from his guests. Amaro was not successful in receiving information from them and was quite desperate and anguished about this until one night,
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
appeared to him and revealed how to reach his objective. Amaro would have to build a boat and follow the path of the sun across the Atlantic Ocean.
Amaro took to the sea with some companions and sailed for six days and seven nights until he reached an island. This was an extremely fertile land that held five cities inhabited by uncouth men – though the women were quite beautiful.
Amaro spent six months there until he heard a voice in his dreams telling him to depart the island. Amaro sailed through the "
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
" until he reached the land of a beautiful fountain, where the people were beautiful and lived peaceful lives that lasted three hundred years. Amaro remained there for three weeks until an old woman advised that he leave the island before he became accustomed to the good life.
They sailed for a long time into the vast unknown until they saw several vessels that they thought could assist them. Unfortunately, they found that these vessels had been invaded by
monster
A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...
s, which had killed the sailors and taken their bodies down to the depths of the ocean. Amaro was rescued by an apparition of a group of women, who advised him to empty his bottles of wine and oil into the sea, and then fill the bottles with air. Amaro did this and was rescued from this "Mar Cuajado" (lit. "Still Sea";
the Doldrums).
Three days later they arrived at another
desert island
An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...
, which was inhabited by savage beasts hostile to man. There they found a hermit who informed them that the beasts there annihilated themselves by fighting one another on the day of
Saint John; the stench of the corpses persisted throughout the year. The hermit provided them with supplies and recommended that they sail East, where there was a beautiful land that would satisfy all of their needs.
They sailed the next day and arrived in the afternoon, finding a monastery named Valdeflores. A monk from this monastery, Leonites, greeted them and told Amaro that he was waiting for him: he was already informed of their arrival by means of a vision. Leonites provided Amaro with instructions on how to reach the Earthly Paradise.
With Leonites, Amaro and his companions arrived at a natural harbor where they remained for a month, after which they traveled to an extensive and rugged valley, where Amaro will find what he was looking for: the Earthly Paradise. First, however, Amaro stumbled upon a
nunnery
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Comm ...
situated high upon a mountaintop called ''Flor de Dueñas'' (Flower of Ladies).
He remained there, receiving further instructions on how to reach Paradise from a holy woman named Baralides. He is presented with a white
habit
A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.
A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...
. This is given to him by Brígida (Bridget), the niece of Baralides who lives in Paradise. Unfortunately, Leonites began to cry: he is losing a dear friend. But Baralides appears, and comforts Leonites with a gift. She presents him with a branch of one of the two magical trees of the Earthly Paradise.
Amaro in Paradise
In Paradise, Amaro found an enormous castle built from gems and precious metals, with
battlement
A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...
s of gold and towers of rubies, walls made with multicolored bricks.
The castle's gatekeeper informed Amaro that the castle was the Earthly Paradise, and thus no living being can enter it. The saint begged the gatekeeper to allow him to look at Paradise through the keyhole. Amaro was allowed to do this, and saw many things, including the
tree of life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...
from which
Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam ...
ate; a primeval and eternal garden; enormous trees; birds whose song was so beautiful one could remain entranced by it for a thousand years; young musicians playing strange and unknown musical instruments; beautiful ladies adorned with a crown of flowers and dressed in white; the
Virgin Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
, who accompanied these young ladies.
Saint Amaro begged to be allowed in; the gatekeeper refused and informed him that during the saint's viewing of Paradise, three hundred years have passed. Amaro returned to the coast to find his companions gone and a city named after him built there.
Amaro told the city's inhabitants his story and they built him a house alongside the monastery of Valdeflores, where he lived for a number of years until he died. He was buried alongside Baralides and Brígida.
Veneration
There are a number of
hermitages dedicated to Amaro in Spain. There is a hermitage dedicated to Amaro in
Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It was formerly known by its English translation, "Port of the Cross", although now it is known by its Spanish name in all langu ...
,
Tenerife
Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
(''Ermita de San Amaro''). The town of
San Amaro in
Ourense province
Ourense (; ) is a province of Spain, in the southeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Pontevedra to the west, Lugo to the north, León and Zamora, (which both belong to Castile and León) to ...
is named after him. The church in Albos, Verea, in Spain is named after him and he is venerated by the residents of Albos, Cardeo, Cigarrosa and Cubreiros. A feast on his honor is celebrated there on or about January 15th.
His cult was also diffused in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, where he is called ''Santo Amaro''. In the districts of
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of .
The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
and
Viseu
Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the Viseu District, district of the same name, with a population of 100,105 inhabitants in the entire municipality, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões Interm ...
, Saint Amaro is brought pinecones, nuts, and
dry figs as an
ex-voto
An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or a divinity, given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ''ex voto suscepto'', "from the vow made") or in gratitude or devotion. The term is usually restricted to Christian example ...
offering — but he only accepts these items if they have been stolen.
Saint Matthew
Matthew the Apostle was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist.
The claim of his g ...
,
Saint Simon, and
Saint Bartholomew
Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2).
New Testament references
The name ''Bartholomew ...
are also brought things that have been stolen.
[. Archived fro]
here
/ref> He is also venerated with an annual religious festival in the parish of Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,2 ...
.
At Beja, the whitewashed church of Santo Amaro is one of just four pre- Romanesque churches left in Portugal. Some parts date from the sixth century and the interior columns and capitals
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
are carved with foliages and geometric designs from the seventh century.
References
*
*
External links
* Amaro at the Spanish Wikipedia
La evidencia para los antiguos ''immrama'' irlandeses en la literatura medieval española
Viajeros peninsulares a Ultratumba
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amaro
Folk saints
Spanish Roman Catholic saints
Christian folklore
Medieval legends
Voyagers in Celtic mythology
Spanish folklore
1522 births
Year of death unknown