Monastery of Santa María de Armenteira
Mosteiro de Armenteira / Armentariae / Armentera
(Meis, Pontevedra)
The Monastery of Santa María de Armenteira was founded in the mid-12th century by Ero de Armenteira, its first abbot. The earliest documented reference is a donation made in its favor in 1151, in which Abbot Ero († 1176), venerated as a saint, took part. In its early years, the monastic community followed the Rule of Saint Benedict, until it joined the Cistercian Order in 1162.
With the arrival of the Cistercians, construction of a new church following the architectural canons of the order began in 1167. Armenteira experienced an initial period of prosperity, during which it amassed a vast patrimony, but from the 15th century onwards, it entered a period of decline due to the social conditions of the time, the interference of powerful families in its affairs, and the establishment of the commendatory system. However, from 1536, the monastery joined the Cistercian Congregation of Castile, which restored stability and allowed for new construction works in the 17th and 18th centuries.
In 1835, the disentailment brought an end to male monastic life in Armenteira. The monks were dispersed, and the monastery was plundered and abandoned until 1989, when a new female Cistercian community was established. The church, in late Romanesque style with Cistercian influences, has three naves with four bays, the central nave being wider than the lateral ones. It also has a transept, which does not extend beyond the width of the church, and a dome rising above the central nave and transept. To the south of the church is the cloister, begun in the last quarter of the 16th century and completed in the following century, around which the monastery’s various dependencies are arranged.
Affiliation of Armenteira
According to Originum Cisterciensium (L. Janauschek, 1877)
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- SÁ BRAVO, Hipólito de (1972). El monacato en Galicia. Vol. 2. La Corunya: Librigal
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- YAÑEZ NEIRA, Damián; coord. (2000). Monasticón cisterciense gallego, vol. 1. Lleó: Edilesa
The Monastery of Armenteira is located in the municipality of Meis, to the west of Pontevedra