The Medieval Festival in Hita will take place from 5 to 7 July

The town of Hita in Guadalajara will host the 62nd Festival Medieval de Hita from 5 to 7 July. It is the oldest medieval theatre festival in Spain and one of the most interesting tourist events. 

The programme of the event is based on the Book of Good Love (Libro de buen amor), a famous work by local archpriest Juan Ruiz. The festival poster traditionally features the cover of one of the medieval books.

Festival Medieval de Hita will begin on the evening of Friday 5 July with the opening of the fair on Puerta de Caballos. Guests of the event will be treated to traditional food in the city’s restaurants and taverns. And after dinner in the Archpriest’s Square there will be dancing botargues — masked and colourful costumed masquerades, who were obligatory participants of many medieval festivals in Spain. The day will end with a fire performance at Plaza del Arcipreste.

On Saturday 6 July the festival organisers have planned many interesting events: an exhibition of birds of prey, free excursions to the Archpriest’s House Museum, visits to wineries, and a festive service in the church of San Juan Bautista. At 11:00 am, the medieval fair will reopen with musicians performing. And at 12:00 noon, the wedding of Doña Endrina and Don Melon will take place at the Plaza del Arcipreste, a dramatisation of one of the most famous fragments of The Book of Good Love. The audience will then be entertained with performances by the bands Barzonia and La Juglaresca, as well as the Turdion dance performers. 

From 3 pm to 5 pm, guests are invited to relax and have lunch. In the evening they will enjoy theatre, dancing, traditional music, the Parade of Knights and Maidens, performances by botargues, and the Battle of Don Carnal and Doña Cuaresma, another production from The Book of Good Love. 

One of the most interesting events of the day is the medieval tournament. Knights compete against each other, demonstrating to the public their mastery of spears and swords, as well as training with a stafermo, an ancient training dummy. Entry tickets to the tournament cost between €5 and €10. Children under 6 years old can attend for free.

At 10:00 pm, Las casitas del buen amor, a modern interpretation of The Book of Good Love, will begin at the Theatre Among the Ruins of San Pedro Church. And at 10:15 pm, the Complutense group will present the choreographic production DANZA DE LA MUERTE at the Plaza del Arcipreste. Rounding off the day are another jousting battle, the nightly show Los Tres destinos and a medieval concert.

On Sunday 7 July, festival guests will be able to visit a falconry exhibition and take part in a family show at Plaza del Arcipreste. The closing ceremony of the Festival Medieval de Hita is scheduled for 2:30 pm.

To see the full programme of the Festival Medieval de Hita, as well as to book tickets for the jousting tournaments and theatre performances, visit the city’s official website. 

In 1961, Spanish director Manuel Criado de Val presented a stage version of The Book of Good Love in Madrid under the title Doña Endrina. The production was a great success, so Manuel decided to establish a festival in Hita dedicated to the work of Archpriest Juan Ruiz. On 22 June 2021, Festival Medieval de Hita was declared a Site of Cultural Interest and also a Festival of National Tourist Interest.

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Photo from flickr.com