In medieval Spain, a king turned to trial by combat and fire to settle a fierce religious dispute. Few episodes reveal so vividly how strange justice could be in the Middle Ages.
By Lorris Chevalier
A liturgical rite is the set form of public worship used by the Church, including the prayers, readings, chants, and rituals of the Mass and other services. In the Middle Ages, different regions of Latin Christendom followed distinct rites, each with its own traditions and emphases.
The Mozarabic rite (also called Toledan), rooted in Visigothic Christianity and preserved by Christians living under Muslim rule in al-Andalus, differed from the Roman rite in its prayers, chants, and liturgical calendar. Its eucharistic prayers were often longer and more elaborate, with distinctive wording and ritual gestures not found in the Roman Mass. Music also played a role: Mozarabic chant had its own melodic tradition, separate from the Gregorian chant promoted by Rome. While both rites shared the same essential structure of the Mass, the Roman rite’s growing association with papal authority made it the standard for reformers seeking unity across Latin Christendom.
King Alfonso VI and His Trials
Alfonso VI depicted in Corpus Pelagianum (BNE Mss 1513)
The transition from the ancient Mozarabic liturgy to the Roman rite in eleventh-century Iberia was not simply an ecclesiastical reform. In later tradition, it became a dramatic story involving King Alfonso VI of León-Castile (r. 1065–1109). He convened the Council of Burgos in 1077 under the papal legate Richard of Marseille to standardise the liturgy in his realm. Yet in Toledo and other former Visigothic centres, the Mozarabic rite still held sway. Resistance to its suppression was fierce.
According to later accounts, Alfonso allowed a judicium dei between two champions to decide which rite God favoured. One knight represented the king and the Roman rite, the other, named Lupo Martínez de Matanza, defended the ancient Mozarabic tradition of Toledo. The duel, described as a sacred ordeal, was thought to place the question directly under divine judgement.
The Mozarabic champion prevailed. In a society accustomed to seeing victory in combat as a sign of divine favour, this should have secured the old rite’s survival. But Alfonso, still determined on reform, sought a second ordeal.
Two missals, one Roman, one Mozarabic, were cast into the flames. If one emerged unscathed, it would be taken as God’s choice. Tradition claims that the Mozarabic missal survived the fire. Yet, as the legend tells it, the king seized it, then threw it back into the flames. “Let the horns of laws be bent to the rule of kings,” Alfonso is said to have declared, pressing ahead with the introduction of the Roman rite despite the result.
Legend and Reality
Christian imagery in an 11th-century Iberian manuscript – Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, Ms Vit.14.2, f°43v
Whether these ordeals actually took place is uncertain. Modern historians tend to view them as legendary or symbolic tales created to express the tension between royal power, papal reform, and local tradition. Still, the story reflects the strong will behind the transition and the medieval belief that divine judgement could be revealed through combat and fire.
Even after the Roman rite was officially adopted, a small number of Mozarabic chapels and parishes retained their ancient liturgy — a survival that endures in limited form to this day. The legend of the duel and the fire thus stands as a vivid illustration of a pivotal moment in the religious and political history of medieval Spain.
Dr Lorris Chevalier, who has a Ph.D. in medieval literature, is a historical advisor for movies, including The Last Duel and Napoleon. Click here to view his website.
Juan A. Estévez Sola, ed., Chronica Naierensis. (Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaeualis, 71A; Chronica Hispana Saeculi XII, 2.) Turnhout: Brepols, 1995
In medieval Spain, a king turned to trial by combat and fire to settle a fierce religious dispute. Few episodes reveal so vividly how strange justice could be in the Middle Ages.
By Lorris Chevalier
A liturgical rite is the set form of public worship used by the Church, including the prayers, readings, chants, and rituals of the Mass and other services. In the Middle Ages, different regions of Latin Christendom followed distinct rites, each with its own traditions and emphases.
The Mozarabic rite (also called Toledan), rooted in Visigothic Christianity and preserved by Christians living under Muslim rule in al-Andalus, differed from the Roman rite in its prayers, chants, and liturgical calendar. Its eucharistic prayers were often longer and more elaborate, with distinctive wording and ritual gestures not found in the Roman Mass. Music also played a role: Mozarabic chant had its own melodic tradition, separate from the Gregorian chant promoted by Rome. While both rites shared the same essential structure of the Mass, the Roman rite’s growing association with papal authority made it the standard for reformers seeking unity across Latin Christendom.
King Alfonso VI and His Trials
The transition from the ancient Mozarabic liturgy to the Roman rite in eleventh-century Iberia was not simply an ecclesiastical reform. In later tradition, it became a dramatic story involving King Alfonso VI of León-Castile (r. 1065–1109). He convened the Council of Burgos in 1077 under the papal legate Richard of Marseille to standardise the liturgy in his realm. Yet in Toledo and other former Visigothic centres, the Mozarabic rite still held sway. Resistance to its suppression was fierce.
According to later accounts, Alfonso allowed a judicium dei between two champions to decide which rite God favoured. One knight represented the king and the Roman rite, the other, named Lupo Martínez de Matanza, defended the ancient Mozarabic tradition of Toledo. The duel, described as a sacred ordeal, was thought to place the question directly under divine judgement.
The Mozarabic champion prevailed. In a society accustomed to seeing victory in combat as a sign of divine favour, this should have secured the old rite’s survival. But Alfonso, still determined on reform, sought a second ordeal.
Two missals, one Roman, one Mozarabic, were cast into the flames. If one emerged unscathed, it would be taken as God’s choice. Tradition claims that the Mozarabic missal survived the fire. Yet, as the legend tells it, the king seized it, then threw it back into the flames. “Let the horns of laws be bent to the rule of kings,” Alfonso is said to have declared, pressing ahead with the introduction of the Roman rite despite the result.
Legend and Reality
Whether these ordeals actually took place is uncertain. Modern historians tend to view them as legendary or symbolic tales created to express the tension between royal power, papal reform, and local tradition. Still, the story reflects the strong will behind the transition and the medieval belief that divine judgement could be revealed through combat and fire.
Even after the Roman rite was officially adopted, a small number of Mozarabic chapels and parishes retained their ancient liturgy — a survival that endures in limited form to this day. The legend of the duel and the fire thus stands as a vivid illustration of a pivotal moment in the religious and political history of medieval Spain.
Dr Lorris Chevalier, who has a Ph.D. in medieval literature, is a historical advisor for movies, including The Last Duel and Napoleon. Click here to view his website.
Click here to read more from Lorris Chevalier
Further Readings:
Juan A. Estévez Sola, ed., Chronica Naierensis. (Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaeualis, 71A; Chronica Hispana Saeculi XII, 2.) Turnhout: Brepols, 1995
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