THE ORDER OF THE JUG - MARY´s SYMBOL

(cited from: Melczer, The Pilgrim´s Guide, NY 1993,

P. 289 f.)

"NAJERA

...

Santa Maria la Real, the great abbey church with hospice,

was founded in 1032 by Don Garcia I, king of Navarra,

son of Sancho el Mayor. The place for the abbey was determined by a "hunting chance", a medieval topos frequently employed in the topographic definition of a sacred site.

In this case the king´s falcon, pursuing a dove, chanced upon a cave with an image of the Virgin with a vase of lilies in front of her. From here derives the name for the oldest Spanish knightly order, the Orden de Caballeria de la Terraza (The Knights of the Jar)."