Daniel in the Lions’ Den, depicted by a medieval sculptor as a man wearing a belted tunic physically restraining two snarling lions. Romanesque sculpted capital, west portal of former royal nunnery church of Santa Maria at Santa Cruz de la Serós in Huesca, Aragon, Spain. The church, first mentioned in the year 1070, was built for a Benedictine nunnery, founded by the royal House of Aragon as a ‘family monastery’.
Image details
Contributor:
Terence Kerr / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
2KDYW76File size:
34.5 MB (2.3 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
4256 x 2832 px | 36 x 24 cm | 14.2 x 9.4 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
13 June 2011Location:
Santa Cruz de la Serós, Huesca, Aragon, SpainMore information:
This image could have imperfections as it’s either historical or reportage.
Santa Cruz de la Serós, Huesca, Aragon, Spain: the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den, depicted by a medieval sculptor as a man wearing a belted tunic physically restraining two snarling lions. The 11th century Romanesque capital surmounts a column on the north side of the west portal to Santa María de Santa Cruz de la Serós, once the church of a Benedictine nunnery founded by the royal House of Aragon as a “family monastery”. The carved capital - and possibly the one beside it - is believed to represent the story told in the Book of Daniel of how the young Jewish man of noble birth was thrown into a den of lions by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II - only to emerge unscathed next day because he was protected from the wild beasts by an angel. Santa María was first mentioned in the year 1070, although the nunnery was probably founded earlier. Some female members of the Aragonese royal family ruled it as abbesses, while others who entered it as nuns included daughters of the first King of Aragon, Ramero I (1007-1063). The nunnery’s domestic buildings have now disappeared and the church stands alone in this small village in the Pyrenean foothills. Santa Maria is close in style to the cathedral at Jaca, the original capital and royal city of Aragon, and is one of the earliest examples of Aragonese Romanesque architecture. It was built on a Latin cross plan with a barrel-vaulted nave and a domed southern bell tower. The church has an unusual feature: an octagonal ‘secret’ chamber that may have been used by the abbess, or perhaps served as a sanctuary where the nuns could hide in times of danger. D1005.B2093