On the construction of a memory of holiness to public cult: reflections on the holiness of bishop Ordono of Astorga (?-1066)

The Diocese of Astorga, located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, was established in the 3rd century. Despite the arrival of the Suevians, the conquest by the Visigoths and, later on, the muslim presence, this episcopate survived. Restored in the mid-9th century, it maintained a regular succession of bishops. The present article focuses on the study of one of those bishops, Ordono, who was in charge of this diocese in the 11th century. He is remembered in his See as a saint on February 23rd. The central objective of thine present article is to discuss the social recognition of this Astorgan prelate as worthy of veneration. I start from the hypothesis that in the Middle Ages a memory of sanctity was constituted in the literary sphere for Ordono, from an event that contributed to the legitimation of the Castilian-Leonese monarchy, and which circulated for centuries. It is only in the 18th century, due to a new event, that his public cult begun to be promoted by the episcopate of Astorga.