The Economy of Devotion in Northwest Iberian Sanctuaries

Abstract

In the Modern Era, devotional practices at sanctuaries in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula left an economic trail associated with fulfilment of promesas or vows, which tended to be local in nature. Behind this devotion or curiosity, the Church and its lay and ecclesiastical administrators found a religious universe in which local devotion in the form of offerings or ex-votos obtained validation from the community, which accepted it as a bridge between the earthly and the divine. The administration of the material goods left at the sanctuaries in thanks was governed and managed hierarchically. Material profit often took precedent over spiritual gain, detracting from religious aspects in favour of internal control groups based on economic factors.