THE LEGEND OF THE LADY IN WHITE

 

Legend has it that many, many years ago, there was a convent in Mata-Bejid 

belonging to the Order of St. Basil, which was inhabited by a 

religious community of hermits led by their abbot. 

This convent, which was named Santa María de Oviedo because it was 

located next to the river of the same name, we can still find the remains of its building today, next to the 

Mata power station. 

 A few kilometers from that place was the castle or fortress of Mata 

mother and three sons, who were the owners of the castle and the surrounding land. 

 The wife was a virtuous woman of such extraordinary beauty that those who 

saw her could not help but admire and praise her. 

One summer afternoon, she went for a walk around the fortress with her 

ladies-in-waiting, and as luck would have it, she crossed paths with the abbot of the monastery of 

Santa María, who, as soon as he saw her, was captivated by her beauty. 

Legend has it that, mad with love, he set out to win her favors, and as 

she repeatedly refused him, the abbot lost his reason, peace, and tranquility. 

Conquering her became an obsession; he spent his nights awake and his days devising a thousand 

ways to make his desires come true. 

The task was not easy, as she was happily married and the mother of three children. 

Despite the difficulties, he did not give up on his endeavor. He took advantage of the lady's outings 

to declare his love for her, sent her letters, followed her on her walks, and, in short, 

harassed her whenever the opportunity arose. 

The lady turned a deaf ear to his pleas, ignoring and rejecting 

the friar's advances time and time again. 

Time passed, and the friar's determination grew, as did the lady's rejection. 

Tired of the abbot's harassment, she hardly dared to step outside the 

castle gates. 

Filled with anger and willing to use any means to satisfy his 

desires, one autumn afternoon, when she, tired of her confinement, went out to 

enjoy the fresh air, the abbot, who was always on the lookout, approached her 

and, in front of everyone present, threatened her, saying: 

"This is your last chance. If you do not agree to my demands, I will make you the 

most unhappy woman who ever lived on earth." 

The lady, as she had always done, ignored and soon forgot the threat. 

Time passed without any news from the abbot, and she concluded that, given her 

repeated refusals, he had forgotten about her. 

 One day, when no one remembered the incident, a servant from the castle went to the 

well to draw water, and when he saw that the bucket used for this purpose was 

difficult to fill, he asked his colleagues for help, and they went down to see what was happening. There, 

to everyone's astonishment, they found the drowned bodies of the lady's three sons. 

The friar had fulfilled his promise and indeed made the beautiful woman the 

most unhappy woman in the world. 

The castle was covered in black, the joy of its inhabitants turned to 

pain, the mother fell ill, lost the will to live, and soon after died of grief. 

The father was left alone in the castle, and unable to overcome his losses, 

he died shortly afterwards, leaving the castle uninhabited and alone. 

Many, many years passed and people forgot this painful story. 

The convent disappeared, the castle fell into disrepair and both the castle and the convent 

became ruins. 

 But since then and to this day, shepherds who take their 

livestock to graze in the vicinity of Castillejo de Mata-Bejid, and travelers who 

dare to pass through the place at night, that sometimes a lady dressed in white, with her hair blowing in the wind, can be seen walking among the ruins of the 

castle, sad 

and with her head bowed. 

 And legend has it that this lady is the tormented soul of that woman, 

whose children's lives were taken by the infamous abbot of the monastery, who was trapped 

among the stones of the castle that was the scene of her tragedy, and who wanders at night 

among its ruins, mourning her sorrow.

The lady in white originates in Europe. There are several versions from Germany and the United Kingdom, but in short, it is about the spirit of a woman who appears dressed in white, usually on lonely roads or in old castles. It is often said that she died for love or betrayal, and her soul ends up descending in sorrow, seeking justice and praying for her fate. There are similar versions in Latin America.