Cardeñadijo

CARDEÑADIJO appears written for the first time (CARDENIA DE ATILIO) in a parchment of the archive of Cárdena monastery in 945. On 1^st. June the priest don Munio bestows a church of his own, then something very frequent and normal, to the nearby monks of Cárdena. The church is devoted to San Pedro in a spot called Arroyo. Probably some parts of that church did not belong to don Munio, as four months later (1^st. October) we can read in another parchment that several landlords hand over Cárdena their rights on the mentioned church.

We find other seven documents in the Cartulario de Cárdena, referring to our village during the 10^th and 11^th centuries. On 1^st. March 950, we see a rare name included in the name of the village: it is called CARDEÑA DE ECENINI, being impossible to know why. Don Rapinato donates to Cárdena monastery the church he owns under the title of San Pedro and Santa Eugenia. We read again the name of PECENINI in a document of June 950 for the last time and added to the one of Atilio: the very same Rapinato donates all he owns as a servant of the parish church of CARDEÑA DE ATILIO DE PECENINI. In the same year the monk Falconio professes in San Pedro de Cardeña and brings as a portion on entering the monastery the estates he owns in CARDEÑADIJO. There are more donations to the renowned monastery, like the one Don Ariolfo (19^th February 969) does with a vineyard and the one Doña Argelo, abbess, and her brother don Valerio, priest, do with the church of San Cipriano including its belongings and rights.

As it can be noticed, CARDEÑADIJO had its fields full with churches or rather shrines that people built and dedicated to the public devotion, offering religious services and accepting alms. We see how the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña turned out to be the final beneficiary of these individual initiatives. Its influence in CARDEÑADIJO was evident both in the spiritual and material aspect. But very soon other two religious forces will come out. The first one was the abbey-appanage of Covarrubias, founded by the earl García Fernández on 24^th November 978. Soon after this event, which was so important in the history of the Castilian shire, García Fernández, undoubtedly through a pact and compensation, removed the relevant church of San Pedro de Arroyo in CARDEÑADIJO from the obedience and property of the monastery of Cardeña and transferred it to Covarrubias. The abbesses and then the abbots of Covarrubias exercised their authority, which was respected, on it. Years later, in 1218, the Pope Honorius III includes this church among the properties of the Appanage. Four years later the bishop of Burgos and the abbot of Covarrubias make a pact on their respective jurisdictions and include the mentioned church. The bishopric of Burgos could not help being present in CARDEÑADIJO, above all from the establishment of its see in Burgos in 1074. In the cathedral there is a document dated in November 1159, where king Alfonso VIII confirms to the diocese of Burgos the property of those estates his aunt doña Sancha had donated to the Church, including the small town of CARDEÑADIJO with all its rights. This refers as well to the jurisdiction, which means the end of the town council independence.

If such a thing did not happen earlier, it took place soon later. In 1187 the very same king don Alfonso and his wife doña Leonor found the great monastery of Huelgas and the Hospital of Pilgrims, called King’s Hospital. Both institutions, endowed with royal magnificence, joined in the Staff of the distinguished abbess, whom the Pope and the King transferred extensive canonical, economic and jurisdictional powers. We do not know exactly when, but the fact is that CARDEÑADIJO was handed over with all its rights to King’s Hospital. We read that in the Libro deBehetrías: CARDEÑADIJO: it belongs to King’s Hospital. The abbess was, therefore, master of the village, confirmed authorities, did justice and collected the relevant rights, above all the infurción (tax on estates). The neighbours paid the royal Treasury for the fonsadera and moneda, including services (if that was the case). They paid as well the abbess 180 maravedis every year for the hospital and for infurción those married 24 dineros and the singles and widows 12 dineros. Twelve dineros were one maravedí and one maravedí was equivalent to a hen. In this way CARDEÑADIJO, which was not located along the Way of Saint James, became a village related to it. A part of the effort and sweat of its neighbours was devoted for charity to those people they did not know, but who were believers and covered the hard stages of a road that is the best symbol of the European unity. It was not a misfortune for CARDEÑADIJO living up to the 19^th century under the authority of the white hand of the abbess of the Reales Huelgas of Burgos. The following kings of Castile and then of Spain confirmed this situation that, in the course of the centuries, underwent some changes. Thus in 1538 we know that the 180 maravedís of martiniega were 376, that they went on paying for the infurción, more 11 hens and that every neighbour had to work one day every year at the hospital estates… We notice that in 1538 a bricklayer earned 70 maravedís a year… In the current municipal district CARDEÑADIJO was not the only village. It is convenient to know that a small town called PEDERNALES existed at the spot of the same name, by the fountain of Caño Alonso, 2000m. southeast. Its inhabitants and estates joined CARDEÑADIJO, but it is not known when.

In 1843 CARDEÑADIJO has got 250 inhabitants and is a constitutional town council. It is integrated in the judicial district of Burgos; earlier it had belonged to the group of Arcos that consisted of 12 villages and in the 14^th. century, for example, it had 417 inhabitants. The 250 inhabitants of 1843 kept a school with 29 children and paid the schoolmaster 530 reales a year. Its parish church was devoted to Saint Martin and it had as well a shrine dedicated to the Vera Cruz. They collected cereals they ground in two mills; they fed their cattle in an area of 920 hectares and they enjoyed small game. In 1900 it had twice as many inhabitants.

Information from: http://www.cardeñadijo.es/

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