"The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" is a work that has been so adored that it has become infamous as the most stolen artwork in history. Of all the many times the piece was stolen, however, there is one incident that stands above the rest as probably the most significant theft, because it is the only time that part of the painting went missing, never to be seen again. It is an enduring historical whodunit that deserves to be remembered.
The Reconquista, or Christian reconquest of Iberia, took nearly 800 years. The fighting did not come without great attempts by Muslim powers across the strait trying to reestablish their presence in mainland Europe. The last gasp of that effort came in the 1330s, when the powerful Marinid sultanate of what is modern Morocco invaded in an attempt to reverse Christian gains and secure the perilous position of the Sultanate of Granada.