Manjarín
LeónCastilla y León
Toponym of disputed origin. The competing readings are an anthroponymic one —from the medieval personal name Manjar or Manjarino, a hypocoristic of an unidentified Germanic anthroponym— and a toponymic one that appeals to a pre-Roman base man- linked to orographic features. The hamlet sits at 1450 metres, at the top of the Foncebadón pass —the highest point of the Camino Francés.
Leonese onomastics has not reached agreement on the first element of Manjarín. The anthroponymic reading proposes a medieval personal name Manjar with the suffix -ín of filiation or diminutive, similar to the pattern Mart-ín (son of Mars) or Agust-ín. The toponymic reading appeals to a pre-Roman base man-, documented in Pyrenean and Atlantic toponyms linked to bare or peeled reliefs (cf. Mañas, Manturque, Mañón). The altitude of the enclave —1450 metres, the highest point of the Camino Francés— gives weight to the geographical reading. Manjarín is today a handful of houses almost always empty, but it preserves a Templar hospice that the hermit Tomás Martínez de Paz revived in the 1990s under the dedication of the neighbouring Cruz de Ferro. The place is one of the contemporary symbols of the Camino, with the iron cross atop the mound of stones that each pilgrim adds.
Evolution of the name
- Manjar / man- anthroponymic / pre-Roman 8th — 11th centuries
- Manjarín medieval Castilian from the 12th century
Glossary
- Anthroponym
- A personal name, often used as the base of toponyms (Lucronius → Logroño, Sigerici → Castrojeriz, Sacavus → Sacavém).
- Cruz de Ferro
- An iron cross on an oak post planted at the top of the Foncebadón pass (1,504 m), the highest point of the Camino Francés. The mound of stones that supports it is traditionally considered pre-Roman —the Celts, Sueves and Goths deposited stones at high passes as an offering to the protector god of the pass. The medieval Christian tradition reinterpreted the gesture as a symbolic unloading of the pilgrim's burden.
- Diminutive
- A derived form indicating smaller size or affection, formed with suffixes such as -illo, -ito, -uelo, -ete. Substantivised plural diminutives abound in toponymy: Hornillos, Boadilla, Calzadilla, Comillas, Pradillos.
- Onomastics
- The linguistic discipline that studies proper names — of persons, places and institutions. "Onomastic readings" are competing etymological hypotheses about a name.
Sources
- Diputación de León — Inventario de patrimonio jacobeo
If you have a correction or an observation about this information,
please write to us through the form at the foot of the site.
We will grow more precise thanks to your contribution.
Camino Francés