Between Biblical and Political: The Subversion of Samson in Twelfth-Century León-Castile

Abstract

The region of Palencia in northern Spain straddled an unstable border between medieval kingdoms. Within this territory of shifting allegiances, a group of churches features a curious variant of a common motif, traditionally identified as Samson fighting the lion. Carved capitals inside each church depict the familiar scene of a man wrestling a lion. However, in this Palencian group, additional assailants aggressively besiege the beast from both sides. The demise of the lion—its fearsome jaws wrenched open and rendered useless, claws immobilized, and tail severed by a sharp blade—overshadows the triumph of the hero. The iconographic variant, which proliferated across northern Palencia around the year 1200, seems to communicate a partisan message promulgated in the local community. The lion, representing the kingdom of León, is one of the earliest examples of heraldry, with the beast’s body serving as a proxy for the king’s body in visual culture. In this border zone between the warring kingdoms of León and Castile, the iconographical departure offers a political commentary, denouncing León as an enemy of the Church.