Our legends of December-Spanish Legend

 

This legend explains how the city of Teruel was founded.

Once upon a time…Sancho Sanchez, Blasco Garces de Marcilla and Pedro Alava had camped on the banks of a river, heading a small army. They were going to comply with a special mission.

 Not very far from there, many years ago, the Celtiberian people occupied a small village. That place was called Turba and its inhabitants, the Turbulets, enjoyed a pleasant and prosperous life. Then, with the pass of the centuries, the Romans left their mark and later on, the Muslims came to Turba in the 8th century. From then on, the small town was known as Tirwal and its inhabitants were called Muladies.

 A long time later, King Alfonso I the fighter actively helped in annexing territories to the Kingdom of Aragon. Although he was only a child, Alfonso II lived through conquests and the expansionist desires of his uncle Alfonso I the fighter. When he was only seven, Alfonso II became King and he reached agreements with the Kings of Navarra and Castilla to continue advancing. He concentrated his efforts on the lands bordering the river Turia.

This is how Sancho Sanchez, Blasco Garces de Marcilla and Pedro Alava, the King´s commanders, set out for the Maestrazgo area. After a long day on horseback, they decided to set up camp in the suburbs of Montalban area. Then, Sancho had a dream…An eight-point star shone intensely on the head of a bull that was running freely in the country.

When he woke up, he did not say anything to their companions. In charge of his soldiers, they started off on their journey again. After several days, one night when they were very close to the town of Tirwal, they saw how a brilliant star was travelling across the sky at the same speed as a free running bull. Sancho then told them about his dream and it was evident that this would be the place where they would found the new city. And this is how the former town of Tirwal changed his name. The young men looked for a name that would make Sancho´s dream last through history. The result was TER-UEL.

Together with their cortege, the commanders went into the small town that was inhabited by Muslims who lived there peacefully. They were mostly small craftsmen and peasants.

The envoys of Alfonso II allowed those muslims to remain in the new city and since then, they were known as Mudejars.

Sancho sent a missive to the King, in which he gave details of his dream and asked him to go there to see the beautiful place where Teruel was sited.

The new settlers integrated with the Mudejars and took advantage of their knowledge about farming the land, their irrigation skills, their handcrafts and their building techniques that gave rise to one of the most important artistic events in Aragon: the Mudejar art from Teruel.

Young King Alfonso II appeared in Teruel one sunny summer morning. He visited the new city and assembled all his men and asked them to build a Wall with seven gates to protect the city.

When Alfonso II ended his visit to the city, he congregated all its inhabitants in the city centre, in Torico Square. He spoke about the bull, the star, Sancho´s dream…He finally declared the following sentence: “Teruel also exists”.