JAUME I IN MEDINA MAYURQA, LA FESTA DE L'ESTENDARD

December 31, 1229, Mallorca Island

Today is a special day for The Grandma and she wants to share it with everybody. December, 31 is one of the most important days in Mallorca (Majorca), a place that The Grandma loves with all her heart.

Majorcan people celebrate La Festa de l'Estendard that commemorates the arrival of Jaume I to the island, then named Medina Mayurqa, in 1229. All the island celebrates this important date in its history, a commemoration that begins, at morning, with the ceremonial placing of the Royal Standard in Plaça Cort, followed by a Mass in the Cathedral and follows and, at noon, continues when the poem La Colcada is read in Plaça Cort.

It has been impossible for The Grandma to assist to this important event in Mallorca today, as she has done in the past several times but her heart is today in that wonderful island that is one of the most beautiful Mediterranean places and where The Grandma has an important part of her own history and culture.

La Balanguera is the official anthem of Balearic Island. This song talks about the importance of keeping the traditions and the own culture but being courageous and brave and working for a better future full of hope, respect and chances. This is also the main wish of The Grandma for the New Year. 

Happy New Year for everyone. Tons of hope and trust in our splendorous future that is arriving.

Before remembering Mallorca, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her Elementary Language Practice manual (Grammar 59).

More information: Making Comparisons 1-Comparative Adjectives

Mallorca or Majorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, located in the Mediterranean. The native language, as on the rest of the Balearic Islands, is Catalan, which is co-official with Spanish.

There are two small islands off the coast of Mallorca: Cabrera, southeast of Ciutat de Palma, and Dragonera, west of Ciutat de Palma. The anthem of Mallorca is La Balanguera.

Francinaina, Giant of Ciutat de Palma

The name derives from Classical Latin insula maior, larger island. Later, in Medieval Latin, this became Maiorica, the larger one, in comparison to Menorca, the smaller one.

Little is recorded of the earliest inhabitants of the island. Burial chambers and traces of habitation from the Neolithic period (6000–4000 BC) have been discovered, particularly the prehistoric settlements called talaiots. They raised Bronze Age megaliths as part of their Talaiotic culture.

The Phoenicians, a seafaring people from the Levant, arrived around the eighth century BC and established numerous colonies. The island eventually came under the control of Carthage in North Africa, which had become the principal Phoenician city. After the Second Punic War, Carthage lost all of its overseas possessions and the Romans took over.

The island was occupied by the Romans in 123 BC under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Balearicus. It flourished under Roman rule, during which time the towns of Pollentia (Alcúdia), and Palmaria (Palma) were founded. In addition, the northern town of Bocchoris, dating back to pre-Roman times, was a federated city to Rome. The local economy was largely driven by olive cultivation, viticulture, and salt mining. Majorcan soldiers were valued within the Roman legions for their skill with the sling.

More information: Majorcan Villas

In 427, Gunderic and the Vandals captured the island. Geiseric, son of Gunderic, governed Mallorca and used it as his base to loot and plunder settlements around the Mediterranean, until Roman rule was restored in 465.

In 534, Mallorca was recaptured by the Eastern Roman Empire, led by Apollinarius. Under Roman rule, Christianity thrived and numerous churches were built.

From 707, the island was increasingly attacked by Muslim raiders from North Africa. Recurrent invasions led the islanders to ask Charlemagne for help.

In 902, Issam al-Khawlani, in Arabic عصام الخولاني‎, conquered the Balearic Islands, ushering in a new period of prosperity under the Emirate of Córdoba.  

Miquela Lladó in La Festa de l'Estendard

The town of Palma was reshaped and expanded, and became known as Medina Mayurqa. Later on, with the Caliphate of Córdoba at its height, the Moors improved agriculture with irrigation and developed local industries.

The caliphate was dismembered in 1015. Majorca came under rule by the Taifa of Dénia, and from 1087 to 1114, was an independent Taifa. During that period, the island was visited by Ibn Hazm.

However, an expedition of Pisans and Catalans in 1114–15, led by Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, overran the island, laying siege to Palma for eight months. After the city fell, the invaders retreated due to problems in their own lands. They were replaced by the Almoravides from North Africa, who ruled until 1176. The Almoravides were replaced by the Almohad dynasty until 1229. Abú Yahya was the last Moorish leader of Mallorca.

In the ensuing confusion and unrest, King Jaume I, also known as James the Conqueror, launched an invasion which landed at Santa Ponça, Majorca, on 8–9 September 1229 with 15,000 men and 1,500 horses. His forces entered the city of Medina Mayurqa on 31 December 1229. In 1230 he annexed the island to his Crown of Aragon under the name Regnum Maioricae.

The capital of Mallorca, Ciutat de Palma, was founded as a Roman camp called Palmaria upon the remains of a Talaiotic settlement. The turbulent history of the city had it subject to several Vandal sackings during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It was later reconquered by the Byzantines, established by the Moors, who called it Medina Mayurqa, and finally occupied by Jaume I.

More information: October, 9 1238-Jaume I & The Kingdom of València

 De tradicions i d'esperances tix la senyera pel jovent,
com qui fa un vel de nuviances amb cabelleres d'or i argent.

De la infantesa qui s'enfila, de la vellura qui se'n va...
La balanguera fila, fila. La balanguera filarà...

From traditions and from hopes, she weaves the flag for the youth
as one who prepares a wedding veil, with hairs of gold and silver.
For childhood that grews up, for old age who goes away.
The Balanguera spins, spins. The Balanguera will spin.

La Balanguera

MEDITERRANEAN ESSENCE: M. MAR BONET & CADAQUÉS

The Grandma & Claire at Sa Perafita

Today, The Grandma and Claire Fontaine has visited Cadaqués and Port de la Selva, two beautiful towns in the Catalan county of L'Alt Empordà. 

In Port de la Selva, they have stayed with some old friends who live there and have visited Sant Pere de Rodes, the most beautiful monastery around these lands. 

In Cadaqués, they have been invited to a concert: Maria del Mar Bonet and Borja Penalba have offered an unforgettable show in an amazing place, Sa Perafita, the wine cellar that produce the exquisite wines of Martín Faixó.

More information: Sons del Món

The Grandma has remembered her ancient roots during all the concert offerred by the Mallorcan singer and the Valencian music, especially, one of her favourite songs, La Balanguera, that is also the official anthem of the Balearic island of Majorca. This anthem is an adaptation of Joan Alcover i Maspons (1854–1926) poem based on an ancient and popular Mallorcan children's song. The music is a work by the Catalan composer Amadeu Vives and in November 1996 the Consell Insular de Mallorca made it the anthem for the Island. 

More information: Maria del Mar Bonet

Before going to the concert, The Grandma had reviewed a new lesson of her Intermediate Language Practice manual (Chapter 25).

More information: Relative Clauses I & II

The Grandma at Sa Perafita, Cadaqués

A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an active wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. 

In contrast, passive wine cellars are not climate-controlled, and are usually built underground to reduce temperature swings. An aboveground wine cellar is often called a wine room, while a small wine cellar, fewer than 500 bottles, is sometimes termed a wine closet. 

The household department responsible for the storage, care and service of wine in a great mediaeval house was termed the buttery. Large wine cellars date back over 3700 years.

More information: Martín Faixó

Wine cellars protect alcoholic beverages from potentially harmful external influences, providing darkness, constant temperature, and constant humidity. Wine is a natural, perishable food product issued from fruits fermentation. Left exposed to heat, light, vibration or fluctuations in temperature and humidity, all types of wine can spoil. 

Claire & The Grandma at Sa Perafita, Cadaqués

When properly stored, wines not only maintain their quality but manyactuallyimprove in aroma, flavor, and complexity as they mature. 

Depending of their level of sugar and alcohol, wines are more or less sensitive to temperature variances. The more the wine contents alcohol and / or sugar the less sensitive it will be to temperature variances.

Wine can be stored satisfactorily between 7–18 °C as long as any variations are gradual. A temperature of 13 °C, much like that found in the caves used to store wine in France, is ideal for both short-term storage and long-term aging of wine. Note that wine generally matures differently and more slowly at a lower temperature than it does at a higher temperature. 

When the temperature swings are significant, 14 degrees or more, it will cause the wine to breathe through the cork which significantly speeds up the aging process. Between 10–14 °C, wines will age normally.

More information: Sa Perafita

Wine cellars can be either active or passively cooled. Active wine cellars are highly insulated and need to be properly constructed. They require specialized wine cellar conditioning and cooling systems to maintain the desired temperature and humidity. 

Claire & The Grandma

In a very dry climate, it may be necessary to actively humidify the air, but in most areas this is not necessary. Passive wine cellars must be located in naturally cool and damp areas with minor seasonal and diurnal temperature variations, for example, a basement in a temperate climate. Passive cellars may be less predictable, but cost nothing to operate and are not affected by power outages. Some wine experts debate the importance of humidity for proper wine storage. Some experts claim that the relative humidity within a bottle is maintained 100% regardless of the closure used or the orientation of the bottle. 

However, other say that low humidity can be a problem because it may cause organic corks to dry prematurely. An inch of gravel covering the floor periodically sprinkled with a little water was recommended to retain the desired humidity.

More information: History

From traditions and from hopes

she weaves the flag for the youth

as one who prepares a wedding veil

with hairs of gold and silver

of the childhood that grews up

of the old age who goes away. 

Joan Alcover