Santo Domingo

The miracle of this area occurred in the 14Th century. One day, a pilgrim family, father, mother and son arrived in Santo Domingo. At the inn where they stayed, the owner's daughter developed a crush on the boy, but the boy's virtue could not be compromised while he walked. Angry at being scorned, the girl slipped a silver cup in the boy's rucksack. When the family was leaving town, she informed the local authorities of the theft. Chased down, the boy proclaimed his innocence, but he was sentenced to death and hanged from a tree at the edge of town.

The grieving parents walked on to Santiago to fulfill their pledge. On their return trip, as they approached Santo Domingo, they could still see the silhouette of their son's body dangling from a branch. (In some parts of Europe, the indignity of a death sentence was rounded out by leaving the body to rot of the rope) As they neared the tree, though, they could see their son moving: He spoke right up, explaining that their dutiful journey to Santiago had won James' heart. The saint had returned the boy's life and than held him up by the arms until their return. To us, perhaps, a pretty serious miracle. But in the Middle Ages, various states of unconsciousness were thought to be "death", so the resurrection was actually common, The story continues.

The parents ran to the town mayor and insisted that he come and see what had happened. The mayor, always depicted in paintings as a portly, well-fed bureaucrat, was seated at his dinner table, ready to cut into 2 hot roasted chickens. He dismissed the parents as insane and complained that their crying was interrupting his meal. Annoyed at their presence, he finally shouted, "Your boy can no more be alive than these chickens could get up and crow!" Immediately, the main course stirred. The chickens kicked away the garnishes and vegetables. They stretched their plucked brown wings. They squawked and danced across the table. The boy was cut down and the miracle proclaimed. The story of resurrected chickens had a profound tug on the medieval mind. Hundreds of versions of the miracle dead and crowing fowl can be found throughout Europe. This is yet another one.