[Gocamino] Eunate

[Rebekah Scott]

I think there are more legends about Eunate than just
about anywhere else along the camino. I volunteered
there in January, and as we had so few pilgrims and
lots of books about the place, I read-up on it. 

Current science calls it a funerary chapel for members
of a religious confraternity, as many graves have been
found laid-out concentrically around the church and
its odd little porch. It´s also agreed that the
building was constructed over a period of time, and is
not the work of some singular genius. Its
eight-sidedness is supposed to be a copy of the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem -- there are
several more eight-sided churches spread around
Europe, and most of them were also funeral chapels.
Maybe because of its ties to the dead and dying it got
the eerie vibe and strange reputation. But apologists
for the now-popular  Knights Templar myth say  every
detail of Eunate says "Templar church" and "mysterious
Templar rites." Everything, that is, except the
surviving historical record. 
(True, somebody could have expunged the Templars from
the church books back in 1390... ) 
Eunate is now emblematic of historical Navarre, and
it´s a national historic monument. It is "owned" by
the state, but for a good 500 years has been run by
the Confraternity of Our Lady of Eunate, a local group
from the neighborhood parishes. Since the 1800s a
single family lived in the house next door and looked
after the place, but when the last family member left
a decade ago things got less stable, even as the
church grew more famous. 

It´s safe to say the church is the focus of the site.
The house next door, once a sort of Confraternity
clubhouse-funeral home, turned to a pilgrim refuge a
few years ago, has been a political football and petty
power struggle ever since. 

I try to urge all pilgrims to visit Eunate - it´s
unique in all the world. But nowadays I tell them not
to expect to stay overnight at the hostel, as it is
closed as often as it is open. Some of the
hospitaleros have been treated very shabbily in recent
months, and it´s clear the people in charge don´t
really want to be bothered hosting pilgrims as well as
busloads of tourists.   

At least that is my opinion.
Rebekah

Rebekah Scott 
www.moratinoslife.blogspot.com