1. The legend of Barcelos Cock
According to this legend, the inhabitants of Barcelos (a city in the North of
Portugal) were very perturbed by a crime of which it had not been possible to
discover the author.
One day, however, there appeared a man from Galicia (Spain) who was suspected
of having committed it. He was arrested and, notwithstanding his protestations of
innocence, nobody believed him, when he said that he was on his way to S. Tiago
de Compostela to fulfil a vow; that he was a fervent devotee of that Saint who in
Compostela was venerated on a par with St Paul and Our Lady. And so he was
condemned to be hanged.
But before the execution, he asked to be taken to the presence of the judge who
had pronounced the sentence. His request was granted, and they took him to the
house of the magistrate, who was dining with some friends. The Galician once
again protested his innocence, and to the amazement of those present pointed to
a roast chicken on the table and exclaimed:
- As surely as I am innocent will that cock crow if l am hanged!
There was an outburst of laughter and comments, but in the end nobody touched
the cock.
And what seemed impossible actually happened. When the pilgrim was being
hanged, the cock stood up on the table and crowed. No one, any longer, doubted
the innocence of the condemned man. The judge rushed to the gallows and
horrified saw the wretched man with the rope round his neck, but the knot was
caught and thus prevented him from being strangled. He was immediately
released and sent on his way in peace. Years later, he returned to Barcelos and
built the monument to the Virgin and St. James.Tiago)."
Barcelos Cocks drawn by Comenius Project students from the 4th grade of Alvide Group of Schools