Virgin medallion

This medallion was found in a mass grave in the San Breixo de Celanova cemetery (Ourense) at the end of 1992 during an excavation searching for the remains of seven people from Asturias executed on 22 September 1939. Three have been identified using DNA tests, but the absence of any relatives has meant that the identity of the other four has not been confirmed. According to the prior historical report, around one hundred civilian and militia vessels tried to flee after the rebels captured Gijón on 20 October 1937.

The victims were captured at sea by the rebels, transferred to Ribadeo (Lugo) and sent to different concentration camps before all finally arriving at Camposancos (Pontevedra). While awaiting the carrying out of the death penalty imposed at military trials held in 1938, they were sent to the prison in the San Salvador de Celanova monastery (Ourense) where, ironically, they did not find salvation.

This medallion with the image of a Virgin on the front and one that resembles the Good Shepherd on the back was found among the material remains in the mass grave. Examination with a stereomicroscope revealed the inscription: “Virgin of the Incarnation, pray for us”. Its features allow it to be dated to the end of the 19th century. The tonality suggests that it was made primarily of copper, which was typical of that period, before the more durable and cheaper brass made the “sacred” available to a broader public.

Medallions and other religious objects such as rosaries or crucifixes have been found in mass graves of both rebels and Republicans. This suggests the existence of a popular religiosity in Spanish society of the 1930s that crossed the simplistic, dichotomous paradigms that associate the rebels with Catholicism and Republicans with anticlericalism or laicism. However, a medallion of Marian devotion is not only a symbol of faith nor does not necessarily imply that the person carrying it was a believer. These personal objects had a strong emotional charge connected to family memory. They were baptism or communions presents, and could also serve as protective amulets, perhaps needed in their attempt to escape.

UOG/CLS