Between Biblical and Political: The Reinvention of Samson in Twelfth-Century León-Castile

Abstract

The province of Palencia in northern Spain framed an unstable border between medieval kingdoms. Within this territory of shifting allegiances, a well-known biblical scene has been reworked, likely to convey a political message. A group of churches located in a small geographical area near Aguilar de Campoo features a curious representation of Samson. Carved capitals inside each church depict Samson atop a lion, with the beast aggressively besieged from both sides: at front, a man attacks the lion with a mace, and from behind another saws off the beast’s tail with a sickle. This enigmatic variant of a common biblical motif seems to disguise a partisan message promulgated in the local community. The lion, representing the kingdom of León, is one of the earliest examples of heraldry. In later centuries, heraldic arms were actively altered to demonstrate defeat by the lion losing his tail. In this area, oft caught between the warring kingdoms of León and Castile, the iconographical departure encapsulates a political commentary, showing the region’s disapproval of their current overlords, the kings of León. Through these subversive Samson capitals, this paper investigates the embattled border between the kingdoms of Castile and León as well as the boundary between the spheres of biblical and political image making.