San Millán de la Cogolla: Where Spanish Was First Written Down
La Rioja, Spain
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Glosas Emilianenses
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275
XP
+100 Spain
= 375 total
1 day
San Millán de la Cogolla: Where Spanish Was First Written Down
275 + 100 XP
A monk at Suso, writing notes in the margin of a Latin manuscript, put down the Glosas Emilianenses — the first written texts in Iberian Romance and in Basque. Suso began at the end of the 6th century as a Visigothic community around the tomb of the hermit Aemilianus, who died in 574, and Gonzalo de Berceo, the first Castilian poet known by name, worked here in the 13th century. Suso is the upper monastery, Yuso the large one built below it later. Both were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 7 December 1997.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Go up to Suso, dug into the hillside, and find where the Glosas Emilianenses were written in the margin of a Latin text
2
of 5
Work out what the glosses actually are: the earliest written Iberian Romance and the earliest written Basque, on the same page
3
of 5
Find the tomb of the hermit Aemilianus, who died in 574 and around whom the whole thing grew
4
of 5
Go down to Yuso and find out who Gonzalo de Berceo was and why he matters to Spanish literature
5
of 5
Work out why here — a remote valley in La Rioja, and the Spanish language starts in the margin of a book
Go up to Suso, dug into the hillside, and find where the Glosas Emilianenses were written in the margin of a Latin text
Work out what the glosses actually are: the earliest written Iberian Romance and the earliest written Basque, on the same page
Find the tomb of the hermit Aemilianus, who died in 574 and around whom the whole thing grew
Go down to Yuso and find out who Gonzalo de Berceo was and why he matters to Spanish literature
Work out why here — a remote valley in La Rioja, and the Spanish language starts in the margin of a book
Before you go
Suso is visited by booked guided tour with a shuttle bus from Yuso — numbers are limited and it books out.
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About La Rioja
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
275 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
375 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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