Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: crowned

The nave and the portal are all of the once Romanesque church that survived the times. The original church was erected within the 12th century, so the carvings seen here more than 800 years old. A detail of the left capital. The three Magi have reached Bethlehem, where Mary wears a crown - and the Star of Bethlehem shines over the crib.

Saint Mary of Eunate stands isolated, as it was not erected in or near a village, but in the middle of fields. It is surrounded by arches, that gave this place the name, as (according to the tourist office) "Eunate" means "one hundred doors" in Basque. Though, there is not much information about the origins of this wonderful, octogonal church, it has probably been an important place for the pilgrims since the 12th century, as from here to Puente la Reina, where the "Camino Aragonés" / "Via Tolosana" joins the busy "Camino Francés" is only a short walk. The floorplan of Saint Mary of Eunate is surely inspired by the "Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem". Such churches (eg Tomar, Estrella, Pisa..) are often connected to the Knights Templar, but there no proof, that they have ever been in this area. The earliest documented reference is from 1487 and just mentions the "Virgin of Eunate", but at that time, the church was already centuries old. The portal of Saint Mary of Eunate has similarities to the portal of San Miguel in Olcoz (8kms east. The outer archivolt is nearly identical, but mirror-inverted, to that one in Olcoz. Here a detail.

Another former priory church, that now is a parish church. Built within the 12th century it burned down later, got poorly rebuilt and was near to collapse, when the "renovation process" started alrady within the 17th century. Not much more than pillars around the crossing of Saint Romain are left from the Romanesque structure. These still have capitals from the 12th century. Here is one side. While to the right are two heads/faces (one "framed"), on the left are two crowned persons. One riding on horseback, the other flanked by a very large bird. Probably this is the same person, but who is the King?