Nuestra Señora de la Soterraña
Encyclopedia
Nuestra Señora de la Soterraña (Spanish
for Our Lady of Soterraña) is a Gothic
church and monastery located at Santa María la Real de Nieva
, Province of Segovia, Spain
. It was built between late 14th century and early 15th century.
In 1920, two of its elements, the facade
and the cloister
, were designated as national monuments
. Its present designation is Bien de Interés Cultural
.
was discovered buried, probably hidden since muslim invasion
, in a piece of open ground at the municipality of Nieva
, where the village of Santa María de Nieva sits now. This fact was considered a miracle, and the Queen Catherine of Lancaster
ordered the building of a sanctuary there and a village around it, to the worship of that Virgin’s image, called Soterraña, an old Spanish word that means 'subterranean'. She did it against the opinions of the priest of Nieva, that wanted to bring the image to his village, and nobility of Segovia
that preferred moving it to the town. However, the Queen aquieved two papal bull
s from Clement VII
, in February 1393, to released the sanctuary from the Nieva’s priest jurisdiction, and getting indulgence
s for the visitors in certain days.
, in 1395, giving indulgences whom give money to the construction.
The original church was rectangular, divided in three nave
s, and faced towards East as was traditional in that time. The every day door was at northern wall, and there was another door at westhern wall used just in holydays.
On February 2, 1399 at Toledo
, the Queen gave the custody of the image and the temple to the Dominican Order
, that oficially accepted it in September 7.
columns. In this extension of the church, it was added another nave with a transept and an apse
, in parallelel with the construction of the monastery attached.
The Queen Catherine of Lancaster sponsored these works until her death in 1418. Her son the King John II of Castile
continued this task. The next Popes, Clement VII
, Benedict XIII of Avignon
, and Martin V
, also contributed giving indulgences whom donate money for the building; and the last one gave 500 florins of his own fund in 1425.
was passing by the village in her way to a meeting with Prince
Henry
, his father the King John II of Castile
and the King John II of Aragon
when the Queen died, being buried at Nuetra Señora de la Soterraña church's main chapel. Her body stayed there, despite of her last will of resting in Ujué
. With time, her location was forgotten until the tomb was discovered during restoration works in 1994.
On October 28, 1473, King Henry IV
called a meeting of the Courts of Castile at Our Lady of Soterraña monastery.
After Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal
, monks left the monastery, and its property was divided between Segovia bishopric and Santa María la Real de Nieva's Town Hall.
In late 19th century, the monument suffered two fires. The first one, in 1899, affected the southern wing of the monastery and the second was at the high altar of the church.
The monument has been restored a number of times, the façade in 1927, and the cloister in 1929, 1954, and 1976.
that was present in the Kingdom of Castile
until the late 14th century.
The main body of the church consists of three naves, the middle one being wider and higher than side ones. This structure fits in with original church. Its slate
masonry
walls have granite
ashlar
foundations and corners. However, inside columns were built using brick
s. In the middle, there is a small cave where the Virgin's image was found.
Later, another nave, with a transept and one apse with two side chapels, was added. This new part was totally built with ashlar walls. There are mason's mark
s of 22 different workshops in its walls, that indicates the large number of workers used in the construction. When this part was ended, the old east wall in between was demolished to incorporate the new nave in the building.
In the back central nave, there is a second floor, where is located the corus and its walls are covered with beautiful carved wooden chairs. The ceiling under the corus place is decorated with a mudéjar
wooden coffer.
There is a mural painting of Saint Christopher
carrying child Jesus
in the southern wing, discovered during a restoration in 1997.
, in the northern wall, opened just under the transept, that is designated as bien de interés cultural
itself. It was made in Gothic style with many relief
s and sculptures. It is divided in two bands with a ogival arch
. In the upper part, there is a tympanum
with a entrenched Christ image, in between two currently beheaded figures, probably the King and Queen that sponsored the building, and two angels. Above, there are the Sun and the Moon, representing the Universe and angels on clouds.
The tympanum is surrounded by five archivolt
s that depict, from outside to inside:
The lintel
over the door had three carved slabs, but the central that depicted Last Judgment
is lost. The right slab depicts the Hell
in whose fish mouth-shaped entrance is going in a person. The left one depicts the Heaven
with Saint Peter
in its gate receiving another person. This slabs are hold with two corbel
s with allegorical
figures. The left one is a griffin
, as symbol of evil, carrying a hare, that represents the sin. And the right cobel is lion-shaped, as symbol of goodness, protecting a naked woman with its paws, that depits the concupiscence
.
Under the facade arch, there are many scenes depicting the Passion
.
and are open to it. In the eastern wing, there are a chapter house
, currently used as exhibition room; and the Queen's dormitory, in the second floor, that is a library at present. In the southern wing, there is the Court Hall, where the King Henry IV
called a meeting of the Courts of Castile in 1473; next to the refectory
. Under the refectory, there is a subterranean warehouse.
There was a fire in the southern wing of old monastery on December 6, 1899, that destroyed some of the old rooms, like another smaller cloister, the library, stables and barns, that were not reconstructed, and later, that piece of land was sold.
s carved in their stones.
There are 17 piers
raised on one-yard high limestone
ashlar walls. Between each pair of piers, there are groups of 3, 4 or 5 ogival archs, a total of 68. There is no wall in the south-western corner forming a pair of three arch gates to access into the central garden.
The cloister structure is hold by 11 big buttress
es and two smaller ones more placed in its entrance.
Each column is carved in a sole piece as two cylinder linked by a bevel withstanding a capital
decorated with reliefs. Every capital is decorated in a different way. Unlike the facade, cloister capitals have very few biblical depitions. The main themes used in their decoration are scenes of Middle Age
monks and people way of life, nature, monsters, and coats of arms
.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
for Our Lady of Soterraña) is a Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church and monastery located at Santa María la Real de Nieva
Santa María la Real de Nieva
Santa María la Real de Nieva is a municipality located in the province of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain, about 30 km northwest of Segovia town...
, Province of Segovia, 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...
. It was built between late 14th century and early 15th century.
In 1920, two of its elements, the facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
and the 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...
, were designated as national monuments
Monument (Spain)
The current legislation regarding historical monuments in Spain dates from 1985. However, Monumentos nacionales were first designated in the nineteenth century. It was originally a fairly broad category for national heritage sites protecting, for example, the Alhambra...
. Its present designation is Bien de Interés Cultural
Bien de Interés Cultural
A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the Spanish heritage register. This category dates from 1985 when it replaced the former heritage category of Monumento nacional in order to extend protection to a wider range of cultural property...
.
History
In 1392, a wooden sculpture of MaryMary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
was discovered buried, probably hidden since muslim invasion
Umayyad conquest of Hispania
The Umayyad conquest of Hispania is the initial Islamic Ummayad Caliphate's conquest, between 711 and 718, of the Christian Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania, centered in the Iberian Peninsula, which was known to them under the Arabic name al-Andalus....
, in a piece of open ground at the municipality of Nieva
Nieva, Spain
Nieva is a municipality located in the province of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain, about 32 km northwest of the town of Segovia. According to the 2010 census , the municipality has a population of 340 inhabitants....
, where the village of Santa María de Nieva sits now. This fact was considered a miracle, and the Queen Catherine of Lancaster
Catherine of Lancaster
-Coat of arms:The following are Armorials of the House of Lancaster under her father, John of Gaunt.-References:* Anthony Goodman: "Katherine of Lancaster" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 30 , p. 890-891....
ordered the building of a sanctuary there and a village around it, to the worship of that Virgin’s image, called Soterraña, an old Spanish word that means 'subterranean'. She did it against the opinions of the priest of Nieva, that wanted to bring the image to his village, and nobility of Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
that preferred moving it to the town. However, the Queen aquieved two papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
s from Clement VII
Pope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
, in February 1393, to released the sanctuary from the Nieva’s priest jurisdiction, and getting indulgence
Indulgence
In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...
s for the visitors in certain days.
Original church construction (1393-1399)
The Queen Catherine defrayed a large part of the building with Crown funds, many worshipers also contributed with their own money for the works, and these contributions were increased by two new bulls of Pope Benedict XIIPope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...
, in 1395, giving indulgences whom give money to the construction.
The original church was rectangular, divided in three nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
s, and faced towards East as was traditional in that time. The every day door was at northern wall, and there was another door at westhern wall used just in holydays.
On February 2, 1399 at Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, the Queen gave the custody of the image and the temple to the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, that oficially accepted it in September 7.
Enlargement (1414-1432)
In 1395, Santa María la Real de Nieva village had been found by Royal order. The amount of inhabitants grew quickly, as the number of visitor. So that was the reason to do an enlargement. Works started on January 23, 1414, and ended in 1432. These dates are known by three inscriptions located in church transeptTransept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
columns. In this extension of the church, it was added another nave with a transept and an apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
, in parallelel with the construction of the monastery attached.
The Queen Catherine of Lancaster sponsored these works until her death in 1418. Her son the King John II of Castile
John II of Castile
John II was King of Castile from 1406 to 1454.He was the son of Henry III of Castile and his wife Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster by Constance of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile.-Regency:He succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, at the age of...
continued this task. The next Popes, Clement VII
Pope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
, Benedict XIII of Avignon
Antipope Benedict XIII
Benedict XIII, born Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor , known as in Spanish, was an Aragonese nobleman, who is officially considered by the Catholic Church to be an antipope....
, and Martin V
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V , born Odo Colonna, was Pope from 1417 to 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism .-Biography:...
, also contributed giving indulgences whom donate money for the building; and the last one gave 500 florins of his own fund in 1425.
Events
On April 1st, 1441, the Queen Blanche I of NavarreBlanche I of Navarre
Blanche I was Queen of Navarre from 1425 to 1441. She became queen regnant upon the death of her father King Charles III of Navarre...
was passing by the village in her way to a meeting with Prince
Prince of Asturias
Prince of Asturias is the historical title given to the heir to the Spanish throne. It was also the title under the earlier Kingdom of Castile. The current Prince of Asturias is Felipe, son of King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sofía...
Henry
Henry IV of Castile
Henry IV , King of the Crown of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent , was the last of the weak late medieval kings of Castile...
, his father the King John II of Castile
John II of Castile
John II was King of Castile from 1406 to 1454.He was the son of Henry III of Castile and his wife Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster by Constance of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile.-Regency:He succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, at the age of...
and the King John II of Aragon
John II of Aragon
John II the Faithless, also known as the Great was the King of Aragon from 1458 until 1479, and jure uxoris King of Navarre from 1425 until his death. He was the son of Ferdinand I and his wife Eleanor of Alburquerque...
when the Queen died, being buried at Nuetra Señora de la Soterraña church's main chapel. Her body stayed there, despite of her last will of resting in Ujué
Ujué
Ujué is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.-External links:*...
. With time, her location was forgotten until the tomb was discovered during restoration works in 1994.
On October 28, 1473, King Henry IV
Henry IV of Castile
Henry IV , King of the Crown of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent , was the last of the weak late medieval kings of Castile...
called a meeting of the Courts of Castile at Our Lady of Soterraña monastery.
After 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....
, monks left the monastery, and its property was divided between Segovia bishopric and Santa María la Real de Nieva's Town Hall.
In late 19th century, the monument suffered two fires. The first one, in 1899, affected the southern wing of the monastery and the second was at the high altar of the church.
The monument has been restored a number of times, the façade in 1927, and the cloister in 1929, 1954, and 1976.
Church
The church was built following early 15th century Gothic structure canons in Spain. Its decorative style has been described as archaic, because it is influenced by Romanesque artRomanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
that was present in the Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
until the late 14th century.
The main body of the church consists of three naves, the middle one being wider and higher than side ones. This structure fits in with original church. Its slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
walls have granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
foundations and corners. However, inside columns were built using brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s. In the middle, there is a small cave where the Virgin's image was found.
Later, another nave, with a transept and one apse with two side chapels, was added. This new part was totally built with ashlar walls. There are mason's mark
Mason's mark
A mason's mark is a symbol often found on dressed stone in buildings and other public structures.-In stonemasonry:Scottish rules issued in 1598 stated that on admission to the guild, every mason had to enter his name and his mark in a register....
s of 22 different workshops in its walls, that indicates the large number of workers used in the construction. When this part was ended, the old east wall in between was demolished to incorporate the new nave in the building.
In the back central nave, there is a second floor, where is located the corus and its walls are covered with beautiful carved wooden chairs. The ceiling under the corus place is decorated with a mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
wooden coffer.
There is a mural painting of Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
carrying child Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in the southern wing, discovered during a restoration in 1997.
Facade
The most notable church's element is the facadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, in the northern wall, opened just under the transept, that is designated as bien de interés cultural
Bien de Interés Cultural
A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the Spanish heritage register. This category dates from 1985 when it replaced the former heritage category of Monumento nacional in order to extend protection to a wider range of cultural property...
itself. It was made in Gothic style with many relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
s and sculptures. It is divided in two bands with a ogival arch
Ogive
An ogive is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object.-Applied physical science and engineering:In ballistics or aerodynamics, an ogive is a pointed, curved surface mainly used to form the approximately streamlined nose of a bullet or other projectile.The traditional...
. In the upper part, there is a tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
with a entrenched Christ image, in between two currently beheaded figures, probably the King and Queen that sponsored the building, and two angels. Above, there are the Sun and the Moon, representing the Universe and angels on clouds.
The tympanum is surrounded by five 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 that depict, from outside to inside:
- resurrection of the deadResurrection of the deadResurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
, with 34 figures beside their tombs; - 16 female saints;
- 14 male saints;
- 12 kneeling archangelArchangelAn archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
s with torches; - 10 seraphSeraphA seraph is a type of celestial being in Judaism and Christianity...
s guarding tympanum's Christ.
The lintel
Lintel (architecture)
A lintel can be a load-bearing building component, a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. It is often found over portals, doors, and windows.-Structural uses:...
over the door had three carved slabs, but the central that depicted Last Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
is lost. The right slab depicts the Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
in whose fish mouth-shaped entrance is going in a person. The left one depicts the Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
with Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
in its gate receiving another person. This slabs are hold with two corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s with allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
figures. The left one is a griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
, as symbol of evil, carrying a hare, that represents the sin. And the right cobel is lion-shaped, as symbol of goodness, protecting a naked woman with its paws, that depits the concupiscence
Concupiscence
Concupiscence is often defined as an ardent, usually sensual, longing or lust. The concept is most commonly encountered in Christian theology, as the selfish human desire for an object, person, or experience...
.
Under the facade arch, there are many scenes depicting the Passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
.
Monastery
All the monastery rooms are placed around its cloisterCloister
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...
and are open to it. In the eastern wing, there are a chapter house
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....
, currently used as exhibition room; and the Queen's dormitory, in the second floor, that is a library at present. In the southern wing, there is the Court Hall, where the King Henry IV
Henry IV of Castile
Henry IV , King of the Crown of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent , was the last of the weak late medieval kings of Castile...
called a meeting of the Courts of Castile in 1473; next to the refectory
Refectory
A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...
. Under the refectory, there is a subterranean warehouse.
There was a fire in the southern wing of old monastery on December 6, 1899, that destroyed some of the old rooms, like another smaller cloister, the library, stables and barns, that were not reconstructed, and later, that piece of land was sold.
Cloister
The cloister plan is almost square, and is attached to the church by its southern wall, where there is a door that connects both sides. The cloister probably was built simultaneously with church enlargament works, as indicates coincident mason's markMason's mark
A mason's mark is a symbol often found on dressed stone in buildings and other public structures.-In stonemasonry:Scottish rules issued in 1598 stated that on admission to the guild, every mason had to enter his name and his mark in a register....
s carved in their stones.
There are 17 piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
raised on one-yard high limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
ashlar walls. Between each pair of piers, there are groups of 3, 4 or 5 ogival archs, a total of 68. There is no wall in the south-western corner forming a pair of three arch gates to access into the central garden.
The cloister structure is hold by 11 big buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es and two smaller ones more placed in its entrance.
Each column is carved in a sole piece as two cylinder linked by a bevel withstanding a capital
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
decorated with reliefs. Every capital is decorated in a different way. Unlike the facade, cloister capitals have very few biblical depitions. The main themes used in their decoration are scenes of Middle Age
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
monks and people way of life, nature, monsters, and coats of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
.