Sigüenza: The Sleeping Knight
Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
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El Doncel
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275
XP
+100 Spain
= 375 total
1 day
Sigüenza: The Sleeping Knight
275 + 100 XP
Martín Vázquez de Arce, commander of the Order of Santiago, was killed in 1486 at the Acequia Gorda in the Vega de Granada, and his family had him carved for the cathedral at Sigüenza reclining on his side, propped on one elbow, reading a book. Every other funerary effigy of the period lies flat with its hands together. It is one of the great works of Spanish Gothic sculpture and the symbol of the city — and the nickname is wrong, because a doncel is a boy of twelve to sixteen and he was about twenty-five when he died. The cathedral itself is a fortified Romanesque-Gothic building, and the town climbs from it to a castle that is now a parador.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Find El Doncel in his chapel and work out how unusual a reading effigy is for 1486
2
of 5
Work out who he was and how he died, and why the nickname Doncel does not actually fit a man of twenty-five
3
of 5
Look at the cathedral from outside and work out that it was built to be defended
4
of 5
Climb the Calle Mayor from the cathedral to the castle at the top of the town
5
of 5
Eat the local roast lamb, which is what this part of Guadalajara does
Find El Doncel in his chapel and work out how unusual a reading effigy is for 1486
Work out who he was and how he died, and why the nickname Doncel does not actually fit a man of twenty-five
Look at the cathedral from outside and work out that it was built to be defended
Climb the Calle Mayor from the cathedral to the castle at the top of the town
Eat the local roast lamb, which is what this part of Guadalajara does
Before you go
Sigüenza sits high and has hard winters. The climb to the castle is steep.
Finding nearby campsites...
About Castilla-La Mancha
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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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