THE HERALDIC DECORATION OF THE MEDIEVAL CEILING OF THE CHURCH OF THE CONVENT OF SANTA CLARA IN SALAMANCA

Abstract

The iconographic-heraldic decoration of the Medieval ceiling of the church of the convent of Santa Clara in Salamanca, a temple built in the 13th century, was studied forty years ago, but under the prism of armorials and genealogies typical of the processes of creation of memory promoted by the Salamancan nobility during the Modern Age. Today, thanks to the bibliography generated since then, we can carry out an investigation free of anachronisms and an evaluation of this decoration within the framework of the initial patronage of the convent, exercised by king Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon and the queen mother Berenguela. This reveals a unique work of medieval heraldry, in which the emblems are arranged to iconographically narrate a chronicle of the succession process in the kingdoms of León and Castile during the first half of the 13th century.