Monastery of San Martín de Elines
Canonry of Elines / Collegiate of Elines / Helines
(Valderredible, Cantabria)
This is a very poorly documented ancient monastery, although some references to its foundation can be found in old chronicles. According to these, it was established with the intervention of Bishop Felinus from the ancient diocese of Oca, at the end of the 8th century or the beginning of the 9th. According to these sources, the community was made up of Mozarabic monks, expelled from the lands of the Emirate of Córdoba.
Later, it suffered the effects of Islamic incursions into the territory. There is evidence that in the year 1002, the church of San Martín was in ruins, and that by 1102, work was underway to rebuild it. It is believed that during the 12th and 13th centuries, this place was a Benedictine monastery, which later became an Augustinian regular canonry, and eventually a secularized collegiate church. In 1541, that collegiate church was suppressed in favor of San Miguel of Aguilar de Campoo.
The lack of documentation has been compensated by the preservation of the remarkable church of San Martín, a single-nave building with an extensive array of sculptural decoration, both inside and outside. Additionally, it preserves traces of mural decoration. To the west, it has an attached cloister with an irregular layout, of more modern construction, from the 16th century. Fragments of pre-Romanesque architecture have been discovered, and it also preserves a fine collection of medieval tombs.
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- CONDE DE CEDILLO (1925). Una excursión a San Martín de Elines. Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Excursiones, vol. 33
- DE ÁVILA JUÁREZ, Antonio (2013). Las pinturas románicas de San Martín de Elines (Santander). De arte, núm. 12
- EÁLO DE SÁ, María (1978). El románico de Cantabria en sus cinco colegiatas. Santander: Diputación de Santander
- FLOREZ, Henrique (1874). España Sagrada. Vol. XXIX. Burgos. Madrid: José del Collado
- GARCÍA GUINEA, Miguel Ángel; dir. (2007). Enciclopedia del Románico en Cantabria. Aguilar de Campoo: Fundación Santa María la Real
- GUTIÉRREZ, Bertín (2005). Colegiata San Martín de Elines. Burgos: Editur
- HUIDOBRO SERNA, Luciano (1928-29). El arte visigótico y de la Reconquista en Castilla, nuevos descubrimientos. Boletín de la Comisión Provincial de Monumentos Históricos y Artísticos de Burgos, núm. 25-26
- RIVERO SIERRA, Borja (2013). La heráldica del sepulcro del caballero de San Martín de Elines. Ascagen, núm. 9
- SERRANO, Luciano (1935). El Obispado de Burgos y Castilla primitiva. Desde el siglo V al XIII. Vol. 2. Madrid: Inst. Valencia de Don Juan
The Collegiate of Elines is in the municipality of Valderredible, south of Santander