San Román da Retorta

Camino Primitivo

LugoGalicia

Compound toponym. San Román, a hagiotoponym dedicated to Saint Romanus martyr (3rd century), one of the most venerated military saints in Galicia. Da Retorta, a Galician appellative from the Latin retorta (participle of retorquere, 'to twist backwards'), describes a pronounced bend of the river Ferreira that embraces the hamlet. It means 'Saint Roman of the meander'.

Romanus of Antioch, a Christian martyr of the 3rd century under Diocletian, was popular in the Middle Ages as patron of the military —⁠his habitual iconography depicts him with armour and a martyr's palm. The devotion spread across the northwestern peninsular quadrant and named dozens of rural parishes. The byname da Retorta is geographical: the Ferreira river, a tributary of the Miño, draws on this stretch a meander so pronounced that the hamlet is almost surrounded by the channel —⁠the participle retorta ('twisted backwards') describes the shape of the meander. The word is preserved as a common appellative in rural Galician to designate marked river bends. The hamlet is a Gronze stage head between Lugo and Melide on the last day of the Primitivo before the confluence with the Francés. The Romanesque parish church of San Román, 12th century reformed in the 17th, marks the centre. The municipal term also preserves one of the best-preserved Roman milestones of the Via XIX Lucus Augusti — Brigantium, a historic landmark the pilgrim can see beside the trail.

Evolution of the name

  1. Sanctus Romanus + retorta Latin 6th — 12th centuries
  2. San Román da Retorta medieval Galician from the 12th century

Reflections, to the letter

A Roman military saint and a river meander. San Román, Antiochene martyr of the 3rd century, medieval patron of soldiers; da Retorta, the Ferreira river that here doubles back on itself in a pronounced meander, almost entirely embracing the hamlet. The Galician word retorta is still alive as an appellative for marked river bends. In the municipal term there is also one of the best-preserved Roman milestones of the Via XIX that connected Lucus Augusti with Brigantium.

Languages of origin

Themes

Origin status

confirmed

Glossary

Hagiotoponym
A place name formed from a saint's name (from the Greek ἅγιος, hágios, "holy"). Frequent in the medieval Christian repopulation: Sansol (Sanctus Zoilus), Santander (Sancti Emeterii), Donostia (Done Sebastian).

Sources

  • Navaza, G. — Toponimia de Galicia

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Camino Primitivo

  1. ··· toward Santiago
  2. Ribadiso
  3. Castañeda
  4. Boente
  5. Melide
  6. Hospital das Seixas
  7. Ferreira
  8. San Román da Retorta
  9. Lugo
  10. Soutomerille
  11. Castroverde
  12. O Cádavo
  13. Vilabade
  14. A Fonsagrada
  15. ··· toward the start