Sculptural detail of the front cover

On the right jamb that supports the large tympanum of the doorway we find a very significant scene from a historical point of view. The carving of the figures is precise and meticulous, although we cannot deny that it is rather naive. This is why it has sometimes been considered older than it really is. It should be remembered that the doorway was probably carved in the early years of the 14th century.

In the foreground we see an abbot, blessing with his right hand and holding a crozier in his left. On his dalmatic sample a kicked cross, and under the blessing, a little devil seems to submit to his authority. Another similar cross decorates the core topic of the foot section of the central nave. It is the emblem of the Order of Calatrava. On the inside face of the footing, three little heads emerge from the leaf litter. They can be joined to the group of figures on the capital of the central mullion. Does the scene represent the monastic community with its abbot? And if so, why was the Calatrava cross so important to the monks of the monastery of La Oliva?

The explanation is long and complex. The abbot is none other than Saint Raymond of Fitero, founder of the Order of Calatrava in 1158. Logically, the relationship between La Oliva and Calatrava seems incomprehensible if Fitero is not understood as a link between the two. From documentary records, we know that La Oliva and Veruela were originally farms dependent on Fitero. La Oliva joined the Cistercian Order as an independent monastery in the General Chapter of 1151. It is therefore very likely that the first monks of La Oliva came from Fitero, and that their abbot there was Saint Raymond. Then came the foundation of Calatrava, the re-foundation of Fitero in 1162, and the designation of the Gascon monastery of Scala Dei as the mother house of all of them. But Saint Raymond is inscribed in the monastery's DNA. And there is nothing better to prove it than the arms of the Order of Calatrava.