Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: weighing of souls

Oviedo was founded on a hill that the Romans called Ovetao. The monks Máximo and Fromestano founded a monastery on the Roman road in 761 and built a hermitage. Later, two dozen monks from the Muslim south joined the founders and, according to a document, chose Fromestano as their first abbot. They were under the protection of Fruela I, who chose the place as a residence for his wife Munia, who gave birth here to their son and later King Alfonso II. Alfonso II (aka "the Chaste", "el Casto" moved the capital here in 812 and made Oviedo the seat of the bishopric. In 912, however, Oviedo lost its function as capital to León under García I in the course of the reconquest. Alfonso II fortified Oviedo and furnished it with palaces and churches. During his reign, a tomb attributed to St James the Elder was discovered in Santiago de Compostela in 812. The king travelled from Oviedo to Santiago and is said to have been the first pilgrim to Santiago. He is also said to have opened the first Way of St James, the Camino Primitivo. Until the city of León was established as both the capital of the Kingdom of León and the nexus of a safe route — the Camino Francés — the Camino Primitivo remained the most frequented route for those going to Santiago. The Museo Arqueológico de Asturias is housed in a 16th century monastery. The Comisión Provincial de Monumentos, founded in 1845 to protect Spanish and Asturian cultural assets and monuments, opened a museum in 1870 for artefacts from Asturias and other donated items. The Museo Arqueológico de Asturias was officially founded in 1944 and moved to its current location. St Michael at the "weighing of souls" / 14th century

Soria is located on the Douro River at about 1065 meters above sea level. A strategic enclave due to the struggles for territory between the kingdoms of Castile, Navarre, and Aragon, Soria became part of Castile definitively in 1134, during the reign of Alfonso VII. Alfonso VIII was born in Soria in 1155. Booming during the Late Middle Ages thanks to its border location and its control over the cattle industry. In 1380, a court order forbade the Jews to try their own criminal cases in court. In addition, a decree was confirmed, according to which Jews were not allowed to be employed in the royal administration or among the nobility. These resolutions served as the basis for hate speeches that led to the massacre of the Jewish population in 1391. Soria went into a slow decline over the next few centuries. It was damaged greatly during the Peninsular War. The original church may have its origins in the years when Alfonso I the Warrior, was repopulating Soria (1109-1114). The church was donated by the Council of Soria to Bishop Juan II de Osma in 1148. In 1152, the Bishop of Osma, donated the church to the Augustinian canons, raising it to the collegiate church. After the canons formed a monastic community, they decided to demolish the old church and build a new one. In return, they enjoyed the favor of the Castilian monarchs, which was reflected in numerous donations and privileges. A spacious Romanesque church with three naves was built. The monastic community was secularized in 1437 and in 1467 the north pediment of the transept was opened in its present form by a large pointed arch and a Plateresque-style portal. The church collapsed around 1543. Reconstruction work began immediately. At the end of the century the new collegiate church was completed with the construction of the bell tower. Parts of the old monastery survived the collapse of the church in the 16th century. The Romanesque cloister is preserved. A psichostasia, on the right, stands Archangel Michael holding the scale, and in the center, Abraham carrying the souls to heaven. To the left a giant devilish creature

Soria is located on the Douro River at about 1065 meters above sea level. A strategic enclave due to the struggles for territory between the kingdoms of Castile, Navarre, and Aragon, Soria became part of Castile definitively in 1134, during the reign of Alfonso VII. Alfonso VIII was born in Soria in 1155. Booming during the Late Middle Ages thanks to its border location and its control over the cattle industry. In 1380, a court order forbade the Jews to try their own criminal cases in court. In addition, a decree was confirmed, according to which Jews were not allowed to be employed in the royal administration or among the nobility. These resolutions served as the basis for hate speeches that led to the massacre of the Jewish population in 1391. Soria went into a slow decline over the next few centuries. It was damaged greatly during the Peninsular War. The original church may have its origins in the years when Alfonso I the Warrior, was repopulating Soria (1109-1114). The church was donated by the Council of Soria to Bishop Juan II de Osma in 1148. In 1152, the Bishop of Osma, donated the church to the Augustinian canons, raising it to the collegiate church. After the canons formed a monastic community, they decided to demolish the old church and build a new one. In return, they enjoyed the favor of the Castilian monarchs, which was reflected in numerous donations and privileges. A spacious Romanesque church with three naves was built. The monastic community was secularized in 1437 and in 1467 the north pediment of the transept was opened in its present form by a large pointed arch and a Plateresque-style portal. The church collapsed around 1543. Reconstruction work began immediately. At the end of the century the new collegiate church was completed with the construction of the bell tower. Parts of the old monastery survived the collapse of the church in the 16th century. The Romanesque cloister is preserved. A psichostasia, on the right, stands Archangel Michael holding the scale, and in the center, Abraham carrying the souls to heaven. To the left a giant devilish creature

Mölln is a small town (pop. ~20.000) surrounded by lakes. It was founded in the 12th century by Knight Konrad Wackerbarth by resettling Slavic peasants into today's Old Mölln. Around 1210, the settlement got the first fortifications. First time mentioned was the village 1188 in Barbarossa's privilege for Lübeck. Mölln fell to Denmark in 1201 and was granted "Lübische Stadtrecht" (town charter) by King Waldemar II. 25 years later Mölln fell to the Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg in 1227. In 1230 Mölln was mentioned as the youngest parish in the Ratzeburg tithe register. The church, which was probably built around this time, was placed under the patrocinium of St. Nicholas. Mölln was important due to the Old Salt Route, through which the salt produced in the salt mines of Lüneburg was shipped to the harbour of Lübeck. Although situated in the midst of the duchy of Lauenburg, the town was mortgaged to the Hanseatic town of Lübeck, which ruled Mölln from 1359 to 1683. St. Nicolai, the parish church, is located on the highest point, overlooking the town and the seas around. The construction started probably at the end of the 12th century. The oldest parts can be attributed to the Brick Romanesque period, the south nave to the Brick Gothic period. The choir room was probably finished around 1217, when the Bishop of Ratzeburg held his first synod here. In the 15th century, the church underwent alterations: in 1470/71, the south nave was extended and in 1497, the present baptistery and the sacristy were added. Some of the neoGothic "new" frescoes got removed. The remaining medieval ones are very interesting. The "weighing of souls" (= psychostasia). Archangel Michael holds the scale. The devils try to hold the scale down. Note the musician.

Otranto occupies the site of an ancient Greek city. It gained importance in Roman times, as it was the nearest port to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. After the end of the Roman Empire, it was in the hands of the Byzantine emperors until it surrendered to the Norman troops of Robert Guiscard in 1068. The Normans fortified the city and built the cathedral, that got consecrated in 1088. When Henry VI., son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, married Constanze of Sicily in 1186 Otranto came under the rule of the Hohenstaufen and later in the hands of Ferdinand I of Aragón, King of Naples. Between 1480 and 1481 the "Ottoman invasion" took place here. Troops of the Ottoman Empire invaded and laid siege to the city and its citadel. Legends tell that more than 800 inhabitants were beheaded after the city was captured. The "Martyrs of Otranto" are still celebrated in Italy, their skulls are on display in the cathedral. A year later the Ottoman garrison surrendered the city following a siege by Christian forces and the intervention of Papal forces. - Otranto had been one of the last Byzantine strongholds in Apulia, but finally Robert Guiscard could take it. It had probably been such a stronghold, as Otranto had hosted an autocephalous bishopric, only dependent of the patriarchal see of Byzantium since 968. So (Roman) Catholicism had to perform something "convincing" for the so long (Byzantine) Orthodox christians. One was to erect a huge church. The Otranto Cathedral was erected, over ruins of a Paleo-christian church from 1080 on and was consecrated in 1088. It is 54 metres long by 25 metres wide and is built on 42 monolithic granite and marble columns. I had come to Otranto, to see the mosaic. I had planned to stay one night in Otranto, I spent three nights - and still had not seen all the details. I was so overwhelmed, that I took hundreds of photos, but the mosaic is "endless". I will upload only a couple. It was created by a monk named Pantaleon and his workshop between 1163 and 1165. Pantaleon lived at the monastery San Nicola di Casole, located a few kilometres south of Otranto. The mosaic covers the nave, both aisles, the apse and the presbytery. This sums up to a total of 1596 m². About 10 000000 (10 million!) "tesserae" were used. There are scholars, who have counted up to 700 different "stories", that are told here. Though, these "stories" are often disputed, as today's interpretations are mostly very "vague". German historian Carl Arnold Willemsen published the most important book about the mosaic in Italian " L'enigma di Otranto", that since the 1970s is translated in many languages. I followed his theories. As the church is a parish church, there are benches placed on the mosaic floor. Only for the Sunday service, the ropes are open so that the parishioners can reach the benches. I stayed up to Sunday to mix with the locals. The left aisle has like the nave and the right aisle a tree in the middle. Here it separates hell (right) from heaven (left). Here is a little angel, holding a scale, that is used for the weighing of souls (psychostasis). This is mostly done by Saint Michael, but not here. The left aisle has like the nave and the right aisle a tree in the middle. Here it separates hell (right) from heaven (left). Here is a little angel, holding a scale, that is used for the weighing of souls (psychostasis). This is mostly done by Saint Michael, but not here.. Or, as the little guy is on the right side (hell) of the tree, this is not an angel, but a small winged devil. Are there flames coming out of his behind? Does he threaten the poor souls inside the scale´s cup with a piece of burning charcoal?

There have been five cathedrals on this site. One was destroyed by Visigothic troops mid of the 8th century. The successive cathedral was burnt down by Vikings ("Danes") in 858. The carolingian structure that was erected within the next decades was burnt down in 962 by troops led by Richard I of Normandy (aka "Richard the Fearless", "Richard Sans-Peur"). The rebuilding started again, but whatever was completed got destroyed by a fire, caused accidently, in 1020. The erection of a Romanesque cathedral started and most of the still existing crypt dates back to that building. In 1134, another fire damaged the town and large parts of the cathedral. The towers got repaired and rebuilt and the portal between them got created. Another blaze hit the town in June 1194. The cathedral was burnt down. Construction works started the same year. The western towers and the undamaged western portal ("Portail Royal") got integrated into the new building. The nave was already vaulted in 1220, the transept and the stained windows were completed in 1260. On 24 October 1260, only 66 years after the start of construction, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame was consecrated in the presence of Louis IX of France (aka "Saint Louis", "le Prudhomme"). Since Charles the Bald, Louis the Pious´ son, had given the "Sancta Camisia" to the cathedral in 876. Because of this "Veil of the Virgin" Chartres developed into a very important Marian pilgrimage center in medieval times. The south transept portals were carved between 1225 and 1260, so these works are some decades younger than the northern portals and about a century younger than the Portail Royal. While the carvings there are still in a transition from Romanesque to Gothic style, the works of the South portal are elegant Gothic. The central portal was carved on the theme of the New Testament. Seen here are the trumeau, Christ standing on two lions, and the jamb statues of the right side. Apostles are standing on small workmen.

There have been five cathedrals on this site. One was destroyed by Visigothic troops mid of the 8th century. The successive cathedral was burnt down by Vikings ("Danes") in 858. The carolingian structure that was erected within the next decades was burnt down in 962 by troops led by Richard I of Normandy (aka "Richard the Fearless", "Richard Sans-Peur"). The rebuilding started again, but whatever was completed got destroyed by a fire, caused accidently, in 1020. The erection of a Romanesque cathedral started and most of the still existing crypt dates back to that building. In 1134, another fire damaged the town and large parts of the cathedral. The towers got repaired and rebuilt and the portal between them got created. Another blaze hit the town in June 1194. The cathedral was burnt down. Construction works started the same year. The western towers and the undamaged western portal ("Portail Royal") got integrated into the new building. The nave was already vaulted in 1220, the transept and the stained windows were completed in 1260. On 24 October 1260, only 66 years after the start of construction, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame was consecrated in the presence of Louis IX of France (aka "Saint Louis", "le Prudhomme"). Since Charles the Bald, Louis the Pious´ son, had given the "Sancta Camisia" to the cathedral in 876. Because of this "Veil of the Virgin" Chartres developed into a very important Marian pilgrimage center in medieval times. The south transept portals were carved between 1225 and 1260, so these works are some decades younger than the northern portals and about a century younger than the Portail Royal. While the carvings there are still in a transition from Romanesque to Gothic style, the works of the South portal are Gothic - just like the portal of the Bourges Cathedral, often compared with this. The portal was carved on the theme of the New Testament. Here is the tympanum. In the center of the lintel below, Archangel Michael holds a scale (that is lost). The psychostasia (weighing of souls) is done here. The way to heaven is left, the way to hell to the right. The hellmouth is seen in the corner.

A small community of Canons in Chauvigny was founded by the Seigneurs de Chauvigny around 1025. Bishop Isembert I of Poitiers (+ 1047) was a Seigneur de Chauvigny, as well as his sucessor. The erection of the Collegiate church started end of the 11th century. It took about a century to complete the structure. The church was in the center of the heavily fortified stronghold, that has a long history of sieges, lootings, captures and recaptures. The "Cité Médiéval" was in ruins end of the 18th century. Mid 19th century the restauration process started. Since then the interior of Saint-Pierre has this distinctive colour-scheme of white and red. The church is known for the capitals, that are in deed extraordinary. A psychostasia, the "weighing of souls", to the left. Archangel Gabriel holds the scales. To the right a devil tries to cheat, holding down the balance beam. HIS E DIABOLUS is written above the devil. Next to this is a thoughtful prophet labeled BABILONIA DESERT. This probably refers to Revelation 18 : "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!" Actually the prophet looks a bit like the tired, contemplating Joseph, who can often be found near the Nativity scene. And this is near, as to the right is one of the shepherds ("PASTORES"), to whom Gabriel announces Christ's birth (around the corner).