Santa María la Real of Nájera

About

Santa María la Real is a monastery in the small town of Nájera in the La Rioja community, Spain. Originally a royal foundation, it was ceded by Alfonso VI to the Cluniac order. It was an important pilgrimage stop on the Camino de Santiago. It is particularly well known for the woodwork in the choir of the church.

The first construction on the site dates back to the 11th century. Santa Maria la Real and the attached royal pantheon were founded by King García Sánchez III of Navarre in 1052. It was later elevated to an episcopal see and placed under Papal authority.

In 1076 the kingdom of Navarre passed into the hands of Alfonso VI of León and Castile. The Mozarabic Rite (sometimes called the Isidorean or Spanish Rite) was replaced with the Latin Rite. The Missal of Silos, a Mozarabic missal which is the oldest known Western manuscript on paper, was created in the monastery in the 11th century.

In 1079, the see was transferred to Calahorra, which had been the seat of a bishopric before the Muslim Conquest. Alfonso gave St María la Real to the Cluniac order and it became one of only two important Cluniac centres South of the Pyrenees. As a center of Cluniac power, the monastery is associated with the introduction of the Cluniac reform to Castile. It appears that this helped Alfonso assert his control over Riojan territory.

In 1142, the Abbot of Cluny Peter the Venerable visited the monastery. While in Spain, he met with translators from the Arabic language and commissioned the first translation into a European language of the Qur'an.

The monastery remained in Cluniac hands until the 15th century, when it was established through Papal mandate as an independent abbacy under Rodrigo Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI ), at which time it underwent a major reconstruction.

As the popularity of the Camino de Santiago waned, so did the fortunes of the monastery, which depended on the wealth generated by traffic of pilgrims. The monastery fell into a long decay. In the nineteenth century it suffered under the Napoleonic occupation of Spain and anti-monastic legislation in the 1830s (the Ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal ) before being declared a national monument in 1889. The fortunes of the monastery further revived with the arrival of Franciscans at the end of the 19th century.

In 1079, the see was transferred to Calahorra, which had been the seat of a bishopric before the Muslim Conquest. Alfonso gave St María la Real to the Cluniac order and it became one of only two important Cluniac centres South of the Pyrenees. As a center of Cluniac power, the monastery is associated with the introduction of the Cluniac reform to Castile. It appears that this helped Alfonso assert his control over Riojan territory.

In 1142, the Abbot of Cluny Peter the Venerable visited the monastery. While in Spain, he met with translators from the Arabic language and commissioned the first translation into a European language of the Qur'an.

The monastery remained in Cluniac hands until the 15th century, when it was established through Papal mandate as an independent abbacy under Rodrigo Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI ), at which time it underwent a major reconstruction.

As the popularity of the Camino de Santiago waned, so did the fortunes of the monastery, which depended on the wealth generated by traffic of pilgrims. The monastery fell into a long decay. In the nineteenth century it suffered under the Napoleonic occupation of Spain and anti-monastic legislation in the 1830s (the Ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal ) before being declared a national monument in 1889. The fortunes of the monastery further revived with the arrival of Franciscans at the end of the 19th century.

The exterior of the Monastery of Santa María la Real de Nájera is a mixture of different styles, fruit of its long story. Defensive needs led to high walls and buttress with the function of bastions. The 17th century left the decoration of the walls and the doors and the squared tower. The portico of the church was built between the years 1621 and 1625.

Inside the monastery, two main areas can be discerned: the church with the Royal Mausoleum and the cloister, so-called of the Knights. The access to the cloister is through the so-called Gate of Charles I. This gate is of flamboyant style and is very decorated; a big coat of arms of Charles I can be found above it with a double-headed eagle. This coat of arms was carried to honor the king, who generously contributed to the construction of the cloister.

The stairs to access the upper cloister can be found next to the gate. This stairs are in Renaissance style and is covered with a hemispherical dome decorated with panels painted in Trompe-l'œil. The central motif of the decoration is a bird: a pelican. The date of its construction is the year 1594 and it is called the Royal Stairs.

The primitive church honoring the Virgen de la Cueva (Virgin of the Cave) was inaugurated in 1052 and consecrates the primitive temple to the Virgin of the Cave. The style of the building is romanesque with Mozarabic influences.

The current temple was built between 1422 and 1453, in flowery Gothic style, presenting stylized and at the same time simple forms. All the vaults are simple ribbed except for the one covering of the central Apse ; the side apses are squared and the triforium has almost triangular windows.

The interior has three naves separated with 10 columns. Beneath the choir the entrance to the cave can be found, where the image of the Virgin is believed to have been discovered, a place which has remained unchanged since then.

The main reredos dates back to the 17th century, of baroque style, and with big highly decorated Solomonic columns with vine grapes and leaves. The dressing room (Camarín) of the Virgin is located in the central part, with the original image, surrounded by the founders of the Benedictines, in its male ( Saint Benedict ) and female ( Saint Scholastica ) branches and a depiction of the founder kings. The depiction of the elements that are believed to have been found next the image of the Virgin is noteworthy: a jar with Madonna lilies (emblem of the monastery), a lamp and a bell. Above these elements, a frieze tells the story of the discovery of the Virgin by the king Don García. A Calvary concludes the reredos.

In the left aisle, a replica of the former main reredos which existed before the construction of the current can be found. Part of the original is located in the Antwerp museum, where it arrived after being sold in the 19th century. Its author was Hans Memling.

The image which originally leads to the construction of the religious complex is a medieval polychrome (only in the front face) sculpture carved in wood. It depicts the Virgin holding baby Jesus, imparting the blessings with the right hand while holding a ball on the other.