Blind and 56-years-old Sheila Penfold in 2009 set a record by catching and releasing (after a hug) a 97 kg/214 lb Wels catfish in the River Ebro near Barcelona.

The following year Penfold made a second world record with the catch of a 192 lb albino catfish. Daily Mail

La bala que nos va a matar ya ha sido disparada.

Via Ratak Monodosico.

Hat tip to Henry Bernatonis.

The Codex Calixtinus, reported stolen last Wednesday, is a 12th century manuscript, the earliest known version of a text constituting a guide and reference book for pilgrims to the Cathedral of the Apostle St. James the Great . The book, known also as Liber Sancti Jacobi, or the Book of Saint James, contains sermons, accounts of miracles, liturgical texts connected with devotions to Saint James, the patron saint of Spain, and some very important pieces of polyphonic music. The pilgrim’s guide contains descriptions of the route, advice on sights to be seen along the way, and descriptions of local customs.

The manuscript is believed to have been taken by professional thieves from a safe in the cathedral’s archives the previous Sunday (July 3) night.

Reuters report.

Guardian story.

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Congaudeant catholici [Rejoice together, Catholics], the first known polyphonic chant for three voices, composed by Magister Albertus Parisiensis [Albert of Paris, cantor of Notre Dame Cathedral, in the 12th century, from the missing Codex Calixtinus.

19th century medal of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece

The Order of the Golden Fleece was founded January 10, 1430 in Bruges, by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and is the oldest of the great chivalric orders of the Middle Ages.

The Order of the Golden Fleece was founded, according to Philip’s proclamation:

[F]for the reverence of God and the maintenance of our Christian Faith, and to honor and exalt the noble order of knighthood, and also …to do honor to old knights; …so that those who are at present still capable and strong of body and do each day the deeds pertaining to chivalry shall have cause to continue from good to better; and .. so that those knights and gentlemen who shall see worn the order … should honor those who wear it, and be encouraged to employ themselves in noble deeds…”.

The name of the Order and its badge, a pendant sheep’s fleece made of gold, represented the fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts – a heroic legend which must have reminded Philip of the Arthurian quest for the Holy Grail. The badge is suspended from a Collar in the form of a Fire-Steel (fusil), throwing off flames (the central fire-steel being elaborated later into an ornate, enameled jewel, from which the badge was hung).

The motto of the Order, Pretium Laborum Non Vile (“Not a bad reward for labor”) traditionally appeared on the front of gold versions of the collar and, on the reverse, the motto Non Aliud (a translation of Philip the Good’s motto “Autre n’auray” – “I will have no other”). Non-sovereign knights were traditionally forbidden by the Order’s statutes to accept membership in any other orders of knighthood.

Membership was originally limited to twenty-four knights, but was gradually increased to 51. When Burgundy was absorbed into the Empire, sovereignty over the order passed to the House of Hapsburg. The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) divided the Order into separate branches under the patronage of both Spanish and Austrian Hapsburgs. Its members have typically been drawn from the ranks of sovereign European princes and the most prominent military heroes. Ironically, both Napoleon Bonaparte and his adversary, the Duke of Wellington, were members of the Spanish Order.

The connection of the Austrian Order to the state was lost in 1918, but the Austrian Order is still regarded as “an independent legal entity in international law”, and its current sovereign is Archduke Karl Habsburg-Lothringen

The sovereign of the Spanish Order is King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Riu riu, chiu is a villancico (a courtly song form emulating rustic dances) printed in a 1556 Venetian collection.

An arrangement created by the New York Pro Musica circa 1954 is now a popular standard performed by many a cappella choirs, especially during the Christmas season.

Performed here by the Nashville Early Music Ensemble at Christ Church Cathedral, Nashville, TN.

Riu, riu chiu / [nightingale sounds]
La guarda ribera / The river bank protects it
Dios guarde el lobo / As God kept the wolf
De nuestra cordera, / From our lamb.

El lobo rabioso / The rabid wolf
La quiso morder, / Tried to bite her
Mas Dios poderso / But God Almighty knew
La supo defender, / How to defend her.

Quizole hazer que / He wished to create her
No pudiesse pecar, / Impervious to sin
Ni aun original / Without Original Sin
Esta uirgen no tuuiera. / The virgin was born.

Este qu’es nascido / He who is born
Es el gran monarcha, / Is the Great King,
Christo patriarcha / Christ, God
De carne uestido, / Made flesh.

Hanos redimido / He has redeemed us
Con se hazer chiquito,/ By making Himself a child
Aunque era infinito, / Although everlasting,
Finito se hiezir. / He made himself finite

Este uiene a dar / He comes to give life
A los muertos uida, / To the dead
Y uiene a reparar / He comes to redeem
De todos la cayda, / The fall of man;
Es la luz del dia / He is the light of day,
Aqueste mocuelo, / This child
Este es el cordero / He is the lamb
Que San Juan dixera. / St John prophesied.

According to the Young Socialists of Catalonia.

The American viewer can tell immediately that she voted for the wrong reasons for the wrong party.

Location and date: Café Iruña, Pamplona, Spain — May 7, 2010. Ensemble: Asociación Gayarre Amigos de la Ópera de Navarra. Music: Libiamo ne’ lieti calici, from Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata.

7:19 video of Golden Eagle(s?), Aquila chrysaetos, preying upon what appear to be Rupicapra pyrenaica, Izards or Pyrenaean chamois. A particularly effective hunting technique consists of snatching the goat-antelope off the cliff and simply dropping it.

Europeans play the best cultural pranks.

A group calling itself L’Ópera para principiantes (“Opera For Beginners”), last November, placed singers among the stall vendors in the Central Market of Valencia, then started the music and astonished and delighted shoppers as professional performers emerged, one after the other, singing first Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo (“Dearest, we’ll leave Paris”), the moving duet from the final act of Verdi’s La Traviata, then the famous chorus Libiamo ne’ lieti calici (“Brindisi — a drinking song”).

6:31 video

From Bird Dog via Karen L. Myers.

You can buy real Smithfield Hams right here in the United States for around $100. The traditional Virginia country ham is awfully good, but Virginia hams don’t come with special metal DNA ID tags, and their former owners are not alleged to have enjoyed a special diet of acorns each on his own 10 hectare (24.7 acre) dihasa.

The Albarragena Jamon Iberico de Bellota hams are cured and aged three years, as opposed to “up to a year” for Smithfield hams.

Hmmm. Three times the aging at 29x the price. I think I’ll pass.

BBC:

“The world’s most expensive ham” has gone on sale in London, according to retailer Selfridges.

The leg of Iberico ham, which costs £1,800 ($2931.84), went on sale at the food hall in the retailer’s flagship store in Oxford Street, central London.

The 7kg (15lb) ham leg comes with its own DNA certificate as proof of authenticity.

Pig farmer and ham expert Manuel Maldonado selected 50 pigs that were reared in Extremadura in western Spain.

The pigs were fed on a diet of acorns and roots to give the ham a distinctive flavour.

After being slaughtered their ham was salted and cured for three years, before going on sale in a hand-made wooden box wrapped in an apron made by a Spanish tailor.