CH II / WHAT IS RIPA DORII?
Nudo de Salomón
We chose the Salomon´s Knot (Nudo de Salomón)because it represents the continuity of the seasons. The life cycle of agriculture, the sacred wheel of time.
Salomon´s Knot (Nudo de Salomón) is un ideogram consisting in intertwining two links (each made up of an indeterminate number of threads) crossed perpendicularly. It was frequently used in Roman mosaics as a decorative element and became popular in the Middle Ages, especially in the Romanesque style, as a symbol of continuity and of the evolution of the seasons and the harvests, as well as other considerations related to the mysticism of the time and the relationship between life and the transcendent matter of religious beliefs. Salomon´s Knot (Nudo de Salomón) has been used historically for two functions: decorative or symbolic, without one ruling out the other, and it is hard to separate them on many occasions. Through history they have been represented in many ways.
We chose Salomon´s Knot (Nudo de Salomón) because it represents the continuity of the seasons. The life cycle of agriculture, the sacred wheel of time. A symbol of Roman or Latin origin which perfectly matches the philosophy of Rippa Dorii and also the sacred character that the Ontañón Family has bestowed on wine ever since our bodega was founded by Mari Luz Cuevas and Gabriel Pérez.
History
As explained by Josemi Lorenzo Arribas, doctor in Medieval History, Salomon´s Knot (Nudo de Salomón)is a representation of an abstract object in the form of a shape, in this case geometrical and artificial, one not found in nature. It consists in intertwining two crossed links. Normally it is represented in isolation, except in the Roman world where it appears forming large geometrical patterns.
As a geometrical motif it appears in all the architecture of the ancient world, and even further back, in the Galla of the Stone Age. It is seen in 4th century Roman mosaics. It was also adopted as a Christian symbol and appears in various fountains and stone works in medieval churches.
The
symbol
Since there seems to be no visible beginning or end it can represent eternity or immortality, as well as the infinite annual cycle of harvests, the four seasons which go round and round with no beginning or end. One theory about this symbol also brings us to a seal of the medieval Italian quarry workers, who used it to sign their common work, as in the work of a wine cellar, in which there is not one sole author but rather the combination of the teamwork of the alliance between man and the land, with nature and climate.