Abbey of Santa María de Alaón
Encyclopedia
The Abbey of Santa María de Alaón is a former Benedictine abbey, earlier a Cluniac priory, in Sopeira
near Ribagorza, in the province of Huesca, Aragon
, Spain
, established in the late 11th or early 12th century and built in the 12th. The monastery architecture is Lombard
Romanesque
.
Monastic life continued until the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal
in 1836, when the monastery was abandoned. During the Spanish Civil War
a fire destroyed part of the monastic buildings and its remaining contents. The church has since been restored, along with such other structures as survive.
The groundplan is that of a basilica
with three aisles and semi-cylindrical apses with blind arcades and a square bell tower
of four storeys. The main doorway has voussoir
s, a pointed arch and archivolt
s, above which is a chrismon
of the Trinity. The monastery formerly had a cloister
, of which now only the bases of a few columns remain.
The abbey cartulary (cartulario de Alaón) is preserved in the Real Academia de la Historia
in Madrid
, under Est. 35, grada 4.a, no. 67. It was compiled in the second half of the 12th century (perhaps copied largely from a late 11th-century cartulary), its latest document dating from 1121, though documents of the thirteenth century were added at some point.
It is of especial note because in the blank pages at some time in the 15th century an anonymous writer, presumably a monk of the abbey, inserted a brief chronicle of events in the County of Ribagorza
in the 11th/12th centuries, the Fragmentum historicum ex cartulario Alaonis
. It is not clear when the chronicle was composed.
Sopeira
Sopeira is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 100 inhabitants....
near Ribagorza, in the province of Huesca, Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, established in the late 11th or early 12th century and built in the 12th. The monastery architecture is Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
.
Monastic life continued until the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal
Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal
The Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizabal, more often referred to simply as La Desamortización, encompasses a set of decrees from 1835-1837 that resulted in the expropriation, and privatization, of monastic properties in Spain....
in 1836, when the monastery was abandoned. During the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
a fire destroyed part of the monastic buildings and its remaining contents. The church has since been restored, along with such other structures as survive.
The groundplan is that of a basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
with three aisles and semi-cylindrical apses with blind arcades and a square bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
of four storeys. The main doorway has voussoir
Voussoir
A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, used in building an arch or vault.Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the center stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. A...
s, a pointed arch and archivolt
Archivolt
An archivolt is an ornamental molding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental moldings surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening...
s, above which is a chrismon
Chrismon
A chrismon is one of number of Christian symbols intended to represent aspects of the Person, life or ministry of Jesus Christ and the life, ministry or history of the Church through a single image, emblem or monogram. The term "chrismon" comes from the Latin phrase "Christi Monogramma", meaning...
of the Trinity. The monastery formerly had a cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
, of which now only the bases of a few columns remain.
The abbey cartulary (cartulario de Alaón) is preserved in the Real Academia de la Historia
Real Academia de la Historia
Real Academia de la Historia is a Spanish institution based in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of civilisation, and of the culture of the Spanish...
in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, under Est. 35, grada 4.a, no. 67. It was compiled in the second half of the 12th century (perhaps copied largely from a late 11th-century cartulary), its latest document dating from 1121, though documents of the thirteenth century were added at some point.
It is of especial note because in the blank pages at some time in the 15th century an anonymous writer, presumably a monk of the abbey, inserted a brief chronicle of events in the County of Ribagorza
County of Ribagorza
The County of Ribagorza or Ribagorça was originally the independent creation of a local Basque dynasty, later absorbed into the Kingdom of Navarre, and then into the Crown of Aragon. Historically it had a strong connexion with the counties of Sobrarbe and Pallars. Its territory was the valleys of...
in the 11th/12th centuries, the Fragmentum historicum ex cartulario Alaonis
Fragmentum historicum ex cartulario Alaonis
The Fragmentum historicum ex cartulario Alaonis , also called the Crónica de Alaón renovada , is a short, anonymous chronicle of the County of Ribagorza...
. It is not clear when the chronicle was composed.