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Last modified: 2019-10-14 by ivan sache
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Flag of Los Hinojosos - Image by Ivan Sache, 30 June 2019
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The municipality of Los Hinojosos (789 inhabitants in 2018; 11,395 ha) is located 120 km south-west of Cuenca.
Los Hinojosos, originally El Hinojoso, emerged around a well known as
the Old Well, which was located in an area colonized by fennel (hinojo).
In the aftermath of the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, won in 1212 over
the Almohads by the Christian coalition led by kings Alfonso VIII of
Castile, Peter II of Aragón and Sancho IV of Navarre, supported by the
Military Orders, the border was moved south of the Sierra Morena and
consolidated, which allowed the re-settlement of La Mancha. Few
settlements existed in the former border areas except the towns of Uclès
and Alarcón, whose respective councils competed for jurisdiction over
hamlets and farms.
In 1241, Gonzalo Ibáñez, Bishop of Cuenca, was commissioned by the king
of Castile, Ferdinand III the Saint to delimit the territories of the
two rival councils. He established a north-south limit, lined by a
series of border posts; the territories located right of the line were
assigned to Uclès while those located left were assigned to Alarcón. A
big stone sealed at the mouth of the Hinojoso well served as one of the
border posts; accordingly, the village was divided in two strictly equal
parts by the stone: so was the well, whose right and left parts were
used by the inhabitants of the right and left villages, respectively.
The left part of El Hinojoso was incorporated in 1298, together with Alarcón, to the domain of Villena, established in 1298 for Infante Juan Manuel by María de Molina. On 5 February 1367, the Marquisate of Villena was erected by Henry II of Castile for Alfonso of Aragón, whose wife, Juana Manuel, was Juan Manuel's daughter. Accordingly, the village was renamed to El Hinojoso del Marquisado. In 1395, Henry III despoiled Alfonso of Aragón from the marquisate. After the defeat of the Infantes of Aragón on 19 May 1445 in the battle of Olmedo, John II granted the Marquisate of Villena to Juan Pacheco, Prince Henry's favorite. Henry IV erected him Duke of Escalona in 1472. El Hinojoso del Marquesado remained part of the Marquisate of Villena until 1811, and was eventually transferred to the Province of Cuenca in 1137.
The right part of El Hinojoso was granted in 1274, together with Uclès, by Alfonso VIII to the Order of Saint James. Accordingly, the village was renamed to El Hinojoso del Orden. In 1353, Fadrique, Master of the Order, divided the order's domain in the three Commons of Montiel, Uclès and La Mancha, the latter including El Hinojoso del Orden. By the Floridablanca reform, made in 1775, the village was incorporated to the Province of La Mancha. The old province was replaced on 30 November 1833 by two new provinces, Albacete and Ciudad Real, and two increased already existing provinces, Cuenca and Toledo. El Hinojoso del Orden was incorporated to the Province of Cuenca.
On 29 August 1841, Regent Baldomero Esparto ordered the merger of the
two neighboring municipalities in a single one, named Los Hinojosos.
[Los Hinojosos]
Los Hinojosos is the site of an odd phallic temple reconverted in a
Christian sanctuary. Stone phallus, of 1.04 m in height, were erected
more than 2000 years ago on the Honanilla hill, where they must have
formed a religious site dedicated to the fertility of soil and women.
Exposed to the fertilizing elements supplied by sun and rain, the
phallus were probably arranged in one or two concentric circles. Their
original number was estimated to 20 to 40; at least 14 of them were
recorded in the early 20th century. The phallus were each added a
Christian cross on top and used as elements of a Way of the Cross;
during the Civil War, the crosses were removed and some phallus were
moved. The parish priest re-established iron crosses in 1954; León
Chicote, parish priest from 1967 to 1977, reconstructed the Way of the
Cross, completing the six remaining phallus with eight concrete
monoliths. Two more phallus were excavated in 1980 during the building
of the road connecting the village to Quintanar de la Orden.
A calvary was erected nearby on the site of a former chapel, built in
1668 and ruined in 1751. In the past, brides had to walk three times
around the calvary, which was a perpetuation of the old custom of
walking around the phallus; the women who did not accomplish the round
would remain sterile. This ritual was last performed on 28 May 1928 for
the marriage of Francisco Bustos and Herminia Izquierdo. Two days later,
Severo and Francisca Moya did not perform the round, which was
definitively abandoned.
[España Bizarra, 21 July 2014]
Ivan Sache, 30 June 2019
The flag of Los Hinojosos is prescribed by an Order issued on 16
December 2005 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on
27 December 2005 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 260,
p. 24,151 (text).
The flag is described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular, in proportions 2:3. Vertically divided in the middle, the first half, at hoist, white, and the second half, at hoist, red. In the center of the white half, the municipal coat of arms.
The coat of arms of Los Hinojosos is prescribed by an Order issued on 16
December 2005 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on
27 December 2005 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 260,
p. 24,151 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:
Coat of arms: Spanish shield. Per pale, 1. Argent a Cross of the Military Order of Saint James gules, 2. Gules a Marquess' coronet. The shield surmounted by a Royal Spanish crown.
The Royal Academy of History rejected the proposed symbols. The proposed
arms aim at representing the two villages of EL Hinojoso del Orden
(Cross of St. James) and El Hinojoso del Marquisado (Marquess' coronet).
The Academy pointed out that the modern representation of a Marquess'
coronet, with three florets, does not accurately represent the
Marquisate of Villena; the coat of arms of the Villena-Escalona house
should be used instead. Moreover, while the sword-cross is modernly
accepted as a symbol of the Order of St. James, there is no historical
support for such an use. The sword-cross was used by the knights as
their distinctive emblem, but the standards and seals of the Order
feature the order's proper emblem: a cross flory, cantonned or charged
with scallops. The sword-cross is today given different meanings,
allegedly representing Apostle St. James, the town of Santiago de
Compostela or Galicia; these modern meanings, born from ignorance and
source of confusion, should not be accepted.
The flag features the rejected coat of arms; accordingly, another
proposal correcting the aforementioned flaws shall be submitted..
[Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, 202:2. 2005]
Ivan Sache, 30 June 2019
![[Flag]](../images/e/es-cu!lj.gif)
Proposed flag of Los Hinojosos - Image by José María Rubio Moya, 30 June 2019
José María Rubio Moya proposed a new coat of arms, based on the Academy's recommendations, as "Per pale, 1. Argent two caldrons in fess indented with gyrons and wedges or and gules three snakes or issuing from the handles (Pacheco), 2. Sable a bend or charged in the center with an escutcheon gules surcharged with a cross flory argent and surrounded by nine wedges azure five dexter and four sinister. A bordure argent five escutcheons azure charged with five bezants argent in saltire (Acuña). Grafted in base, Or a cross flory gules charged with five scallops argent (Order of St. James). The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed."
The arms of Pacheco are similar to the Portuguese arms of the root of the lineage, with the field changed from or to argent. The caldrons, commonly used in the 12th-13th century, indicated that the arms' bearer was rich enough to fund - and feed - an army, similar to the Royal army. On most arms, two caldrons are used instead of a single one for the sake of esthetics. The snakes have no specific meaning, being originally ornaments of the caldron's handles, one of each side. With time, the number of snakes increased and they were represented emerging from the caldron, which is quite absurd.
Juan Pacheco, Marquess of Villena and Duke of Escalona, quartered his
arms with the arms of Acuña, as the son of the lord of Belmonte, María Pacheco, and of Alfonso Téllez Girón y Vázquez de Acuña, the nephew of the Count of Valencia de Don Juan, the Portuguese Martín Lope y Vázquez de
Acuña.
The Acuña lineage originates from Acuña Alta, in the Sierra de Estralla,
via Fernando Páez (Peláez), the son of Pelayo Gutiérrez, lord of La
Quinta y Torre de Silva in Acuña. The original, canting arms of Acuña,
granted by King Alfonso I to Pay Gutiérrez de Acuña, are "Or nine wedges
[cu&nilde;as] azure".
The Acuña from Teverga (Asturias) and other places, descending from
Fernán Páez, lord of Acuña Alta, nephew of Gutierre Peláez, lord of El Páramo de la Foncella, and the descendants of Lope Vázquez de Acuña, junior brother of Martín, and of his mother, Teresa Carrillo de
Albornoz, the Counts of Buendía included, bore: "Or nine wedges azure. A
bordure argent five escutcheons azure charged with five bezants argent
in saltire (Royal arms of Portugal)".
The Acuña descending from Martín Vázquez de Acuña and his mother, Infanta María of Portugal, lord of Valencia de Don Juan, the Counts and
Dukes of Valencia included, bore: "Sable a bend or charged in the center
with an escutcheon gules surcharged with a cross flory argent and
surrounded by nine wedges azure five dexter and four sinister. A bordure
argent five escutcheons azure charged with five bezants argent in
saltire (Royal arms of Portugal)".
The five escutcheons on the bordure come from the arms of Portugal. They
are a legendary representation of the five Moorish kings defeated on 26
July 1139 in the battle of Ourique by Alfonso Enríquez, the first king
of Portugal. Each escutcheon is charged with five bezants argent in
saltire. Known as the Portuguese quinas, which legendary recall that
Jesus on the cross appeared to Alfonso Enríquez on the eve of the battle
of Ourique; as a reward, the winning king incorporated Christ's five
stigmata to his banner. All over, the 30 bezants represent the 30 coins
awarded to Judas for his betrayal.
The canting arms of Girón recall an episode of the reconquest of Toledo, which was completed in 1085. When his horse died, King Alfonso VI was saved from death by Rodrigo González de Cisneros, who offered him his own horse and three gyrons he cut from his jacket, as a proof of his sacrifice. As a reward, the king granted hims three gyrons to be added to his shield. Known as the Three-Gyrons' Knight, Girón subsequently married Sancha, the king's daughter.
The proper emblem of the Order of Saint James features a cross flory,
which conveys a dual symbolism, representing Jesus Christ while the
fleurs-de-lis-shaped arms represent the Blessed Virgin. The scallops
recall the legendary battle of Clavijo, won in 844 over the Muslims with
the physical help of Apostle St. James. The representation of the saint
by a scallop appears to be connected with pilgrims that brought back
home scallops collected ashore in Santiago de Compostela.
[Los Hinojosos, 3 July 2012]
Ivan Sache, 30 June 2019
