INDÍBIL AND MANDONI, FROM IBERIAN ILTRIDA TO LLEIDA

If there is one thing the personalities of Joseph de Ca'th Lon, Claire Fontaine and The Grandma have in common, it is that all three are very shy and extremely discreet people. But of all three, the one who takes first prize is Claire Fontaine, which is why today they have decided to do a nice photo shoot for her (with her permission) while they have visited Lleida, a city that Claire knows perfectly and that she loves madly because we already know that your home is where your heart is.

 

This morning, all three of them have walked through the historic centre of the city with the omnipresent presence of the Seu Vella, that they have not been able to visit today due to lack of time, but that they know well and admire deeply. They have had a few hours before taking the Avant towards Barcelona and, for this reason, they have gone to visit the two heroes of the city, Indíbil and Mandoni.

During the train journey, The Grandma has taken the opportunity to write this post, because tomorrow, Claire and Joseph will fly to Vienna where the Northern Star has a very important match and they don't want to miss the opportunity to watch her live.

Indibilis and Mandonius (Indíbil i Mandoni in Catalan) were chieftains of the Ilergetes, an ancient Iberian people based in the Iberian Peninsula. 

Polybius speaks of the brothers as the most influential and powerful of the Iberian chieftains in that period. Livy calls one of the chieftains of the Ilergetes Indibilis. At the same time, Polybius gives "Andobales" for the same person. They agree that his brother chieftain was Mandonius.

Indibilis fought against the Romans and sided with the Carthaginians at the Battle of Cissa in 218 BC, when Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus fought them. Indibilis and Carthaginian general Hanno were defeated at this battle and became a prisoner.

In 217 BC, Indibilis regained his freedom and, with his younger brother Mandonius, decided to harass neighbouring Iberian tribes who were friendly to, or in alliance with, Rome. This harassment was fended off by Scipio Calvus by counter measures that involved killing some of Indibilis' tribesmen, taking some prisoner, and disarming the others. When Hasdrubal Barca, who was in north-western Iberia, heard of this, he returned to help out his Iberian allies south of the Ebro River. At this time, the tide of war took a turn because of unexpected intelligence received by Scipio Calvus from the Celtiberians. The Celtiberi were encouraged to collaborate with Scipio Calvus and invade New Carthage. On the way there, the combined armies took three fortified towns and fought two successful battles against Hasdrubal, Indibilis, and Mandonius. Scipio Calvus' combined armies killed 15,000 of the enemy and took 4,000 prisoners.

As a result, Indibilis and Mandonius and their remaining tribesmen stayed out of the picture until 211 BC. At that time, they gathered 7,500 Suessetani and joined forces with Hasdrubal. Publius Cornelius Scipio, father to Scipio Africanus and younger brother of Scipio Calvus, decided to attack the Iberian chieftain brothers as they were moving across his line of retreat from his camp. Cornelius Scipio did not want to be trapped and surrounded by Carthaginians. He marched at midnight to meet them and skirmished with them at daybreak. Cornelius Scipio was speared with a lance and killed during the Battle of Castulo, part of the Battle of the Upper Baetis. Scipio Calvus was killed at the Battle of Ilorca, the other part of the battle of the Upper Baetis, a few days later.

Even though the chieftains were generally pro-Carthaginian, for which they were rewarded by being given back their tribal territories after the death of the two Scipios in 211 BC, they soon changed their minds after the conduct of the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Gisco. He demanded money from them for his own benefit. He also required that the wife of Mandonius and the daughters of Indibilis be held at New Carthage in pledge for their fathers' fidelity. The hostages were part of the booty when Scipio Africanus captured New Carthage in 209 BC. Africanus treated them with much dignity and returned them to their rightful places, which impressed the Iberians.

The two brothers soon abandoned the Carthaginians and sided with the Romans. In 209 BC, they concluded a treaty of alliance with the Romans which involved most of the Iberian tribes. They then collaborated in a campaign against Hasdrubal Gisco which ended in a victory at the Battle of Baecula in 208 BC.

Because of the presence of the Roman general Africanus, Indibilis and Mandonius maintained a friendly association with the Romans. However, when a rumour spread in 206 BC that Africanus was seriously ill and possibly dead, they started a rebellion aimed at getting the Romans to leave Iberia. This rumour also started a mutiny at the military camp at the Sucro River, which involved some 8,000 soldiers. Indibilis and Mandonius sided with the mutineers. Africanus recovered and returned to good health and ultimately defeated the mutiny with the thirty-five ringleaders beheaded. He then fought the armies of Indibilis and Mandonius and defeated them. Indibilis and Mandonius surrendered to Africanus asking for mercy. Indibilis and Mandonius were subsequently released by Scipio on favourable terms.

The next year, Africanus left Iberia in the hands of his generals L. Lentulus and L. Manlius and returned to Rome to prepare for an attack on Carthage. Since Africanus was the only Roman general of whom Indibilis and Mandonius were afraid, they roused the Iberian tribes and assembled an army of 30,000 foot soldiers and 4,000 cavalry and decided to rebel again. In a battle with the Romans, the Iberians were all but destroyed. Indibilis was killed during the battle and Mandonius escaped with the remnants of his forces. As part of the peace terms dictated by Rome, he was given up by his tribesmen to the Romans; what became of him is unknown.

More information: Mind Trip

La veu Mandoni i les cadenes trenca,
i estén los braços de genolls alçant-se...
Mes ai que xiula la destral, llampega,
i un tronc desploma’s i una testa salta.

La mare al poble gemegant la mostra:
-Què has fet, oh raça de tants hèroes? Guaita,
 i a eix preu te vens a los botxins? Desperta!  
Venjança i llibertat!... I el poble calla.

The voice of Mandoni and the chains break,
and he stretches his arms from his knees, rising...
But alas, the axe whistles, flashes,
and a trunk collapses and a head jumps.

The mother in the village groans and shows it:
-What have you done, oh race of so many heroes? Look,
and at this price you sell yourself to the executioners? Wake up! 
Revenge and freedom!... And the village is silent.

Angel Guimerà, Indíbil i Mandoni, Mar i Cel

CASTELL DE SANT PERE D'ÀGER, CONGOST DE MONT-REBEI

After observing the syzygy last night, Joseph de Ca'th Lon, Claire Fontaine and The Grandma have decided to have a good breakfast in Àger and visit the medieval city and the Collegiate Castle of Sant Pere.

Then, they have taken their cameras, zooms and binoculars and have headed towards the Mont-rebei Gorge, a spectacularly wonderful and unique natural space located between Pallars Jussà, La Noguera and Baixa Ribagorça, this in the part known as the Franja, the territories of Catalan language and culture that are part of Aragon. The journey was spectacular and the three friends have enjoyed another of their great hobbies: ornithology.

In the middle of the Vall d'Àger, high on a hill stands the ancient canonry of Sant Pere, one of the most important sites of the Catalan Romanesque. Surrounded by a wall and situated in a strategic point that dominates the entirety of the valley, its stones bear evidence to a part of the history of the Christian conquest.

The origin of the site is found in the castle erected by the Arabs. The vall d'Àger, like the majority of the territories in Lleida, was under Islamic control at the beginning of the 8th century. It wasn't until the end of the 11th century that the Christians, commanded by Arnau Mir de Tost, occupied the fortification.  

Arnau Mir and his wife Arsenda converted the castle into their political centre and residence and ordered the construction of the church of Sant Pere, soon housing a community of canonries.

The building that formed the ancient canonry exemplifies diverse styles, transformations and constructions: the major church, with an older part that shaped the crypt, the Romanesque cloister that in the 14th century was substituted for a Gothic cloister under the orders of Pere I, Count of Urgell, and Gothic dependencies, renovated in some cases to match new styles, like the Renaissance refectory.

After a time of splendor, largely due to the privilege of Episcopal exemption, the Sant Pere de Àger went into decline in the 15th century due to the depopulation of the Vall d'Àger and the war against Joan II. The 16th century marked the secularisation of the abbey which was later converted into a collegiate church. The canonry didn’t resist the passage of time and was crumbling from the devastation of wars, sieges and pillaging, the Segadors, the war of Sucession and the Peninsular War, among others.

Sant Pere is a fortified site with Romanesque and Neogothic touches, erected in the 11th century by Arnau Mir de Tost, leader of the county of Urgell. With this operation the leader wanted to obtain political and religious power at the same time, creating canonical site that would directly depend on the Holy See.

The foundations rest on the remains of a Roman castle, subsequently seized and also reconverted by the Arabs. The site was built during the 11th century: the castle-palace and the collegiate church, which was managed by a canonical order.

In the church we can still see the section with the three naves headed by three apses, although this basilical layout was incorporated in later works. The bell tower dates back to the 12th century, and took the defensive style of the site due to strategic recommendations, for the site bordered the Arab part of Catalunya. The building works of the church's cloister, initiated by Count Pere Urgell, took place between the 14th and the 15th centuries.

Important relics of the rich interior decoration are still preserved, such as ornaments and Romanesque mural paintings, in the Museu Diocesà de Lleida, in the Catalonia National Art Museum and in the United States.

It must be added that the sculptures are also noteworthy, and they follow the same style lines as those in the Barcelona Cathedral.

More information: Turisme d'Àger

The Mont-rebei Gorge is a place that is part of the Noguera Ribagorçana-Mont Rebei Partial Natural Reserve. It is located on the border between Aragon and Catalunya. To the west, is the Baixa Ribagorça (Franja) and to the east the Pallars Jussà and the Noguera (Catalunya). It is formed in the narrowest part where the Noguera Ribagorçana river crosses the Montsec mountain range.

On the south-eastern side, it belongs to the municipality of Àger, in La Noguera; on the north-eastern side, to Sant Esteve de la Sarga, in Pallars Jussà. On the western side, it belongs to the municipality of Viacamp i Lliterà, in Baixa Ribagorça.

It is a place of undoubted ecological value for the wild fauna that it houses, among which birds of prey should be highlighted, and for the beauty of its rugged landscape. It is very attractive for climbers and speleologists, as there are excellent walls and a cave such as La Colomera. The maintenance of the reserve is in charge of the Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera.

It can be reached by road from the Montanyana and Sant Esteve de la Sarga bridges to the north, and from Àger to the south. There is an unguarded public car park located on the plain formed by the eastern bank, just north of the gorge. There is an information hut and in the summer educational talks are held there.

On the Aragonese side, the right bank of the river, north of the gorge, is dominated by the tower of Girbeta Castle and two Romanesque churches: Nostra Senyora del Congost and Nostra Senyora del Congost Vella, the latter in ruins.

On the Catalan side, the passage through the gorge is made entirely by a path dug into the rock, and in some places by tunnel. It should be remembered that this path is located at high altitude and does not have a railing, so it is not recommended for children or those who suffer from vertigo. To the south, the path gains altitude and runs along the slopes of the mountain until you can see the reservoir.

The Mont-rebei Gorge is, without a doubt, one of the most unique natural spaces in the Pre-Pyrenees, both from a landscape point of view, as it is the only large gorge free of infrastructure, and for its great biodiversity.

Several interesting faunal species live there. Among the birds, there are many large birds of prey typical of the cliffs: the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), the sable (Neophron percnopterus), the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), as well as the yellow-billed jackdaw (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) and red-billed jackdaw (Pyrrhocorax graculus) and the rockhopper (Tichodroma muraria). Among the mammals, there is the common otter (Lutra lutra), the wildcat (Felis silvestris), the marten (Martes martes), the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), the mole (Talpa europaea) and numerous species of bats.

More information: Bald Hiker

 Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, 
cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.

E. O. Wilson