The Rooster of Barcelos

Barcelos, in northern Portugal's Minho region, is home to the country's best-known legend, that of O Galo de Barcelos, the rooster that became Portugal's unofficial national symbol. The story, first written down in the 17th century though likely older, tells of a Galician pilgrim passing through Barcelos toward Santiago de Compostela who was wrongly accused of theft and sentenced to hang. Facing the local judge, about to sit down to a meal of roasted rooster, the condemned man swore his innocence and declared that, as proof, the rooster on the judge's table would crow if he truly did not deserve to die. The judge laughed off the claim and let the execution proceed, but at the exact moment of the hanging, the roasted rooster is said to have stood up and crowed loudly, sending the judge rushing to the gallows to find the rope had failed to tighten, sparing the pilgrim's life. The grateful pilgrim later carved a stone monument to Nossa Senhora and Saint James in thanks, and the colorful ceramic rooster, painted in the black, red and yellow of traditional Barcelos pottery, is today sold across Portugal as a charm for justice, honesty and good fortune.