Ordoño's rood

According to medieval chronicles, the treasures of Santiago Cathedral came to include 300 gold and silver crosses, almost all of which have now been lost. The Cross of Ordoño II, however, is one of the few remaining.

This work is actually a Lignum Crucis reliquary and is named after the fact that it was believed to have been given as an offering by King Ordoño II (914–24). Years later this was ruled out based on the piece's stylistic characteristics, which date it between 1060 and 1063. It is an exceptional work and can be linked to a mid-11th century Rhenish workshop that was active in the Leonese court, and which would influence works made in Santiago workshops in later years.