Community: S. María la Real de Sijena
Alternate Names: Sigena, Sixena
Foundation Information: Founded by Sancha of Leon-Castile (d. 1208), queen of Aragon, during the reign of her husband Alfonso II of Aragon (r. 1162-1196). In addition to the Rule of Saint Augustine, Sancha had Ricardo, Bishop of Huesca, write a customary for the house in 1188. The customary is known as Sancha's rule.
Notable Heads: Sancha de Abiego (1190-1192), Beatriz de Cabrera (1193-1196), Maria de Estopañóa (1198-1202), Ozenda de Lizana (1203-1224), Sancha Jimenez de Urrea (1126-1237), Oria Jimenez de Luesia (1238-1252), Urraca de Entenza (1254-1259), Toda Ortiz de Lizana (1259-1266), Elisenda de Querol (1268-1281), Ines de Benavente (1281-1291), Teresa Jimenez de Urrea (1292-1321), infanta Blanca de Aragon y Anjou (1321-1348)
Patrons/Benefactors: Protected by kings, nobles, and popes. It was the most powerful Hospitaller monastery for women in Aragon and Catalonia, arguably in the peninsula. Enjoyed the patronage of kings, although after the thirteenth century Aragonese nobles were the primary benefactors. Sancha, her son Pedro II (r. 1196-1213), and her daughters Dulce and Leonor were all buried at the site.
Social Characteristics: Daughters of royalty and nobles.
Relative Wealth: Extremely wealthy
Architecture Archaeology: The monastery was built in a single campaign under Sancha of Leon-Castile. The style is Romanesque, although a broad pointed vault is the primary building technique for the entirety of the monastery. The chapter house had Sicilian-Byzantine style frescoes painted in the last quarter of the twelfth century. Blanca of Aragon and Anjou added a prioral palace in the fourteenth century. See
Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses “Miguel Servet”/Michael Servetus Institute: A Reference Center for Servetian Studies
, "Architecture," "Murals".
State of Medieval Structure: The monastery buildings were destroyed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. The church, refectory, and chapter house were the least damaged. Reconstruction was slow and in November 1985 the remains of the monastery were given to the Nuns of the Order of Bethlehem and the Assumption of the Virgin (b. 1950). The church, refectory, and chapter house have been restored. The fourteenth century palace is presently in use by the nuns as their dormitory. The remainder of the structure is slowly being reconstructed, although it is at a standstill at present. The chapter house frescoes are at the Museu Nacional d'Art Catalan
Manuscript Sources:
Archivo de la Corona de Aragon / Arxiu de la Corona de Aragó, Jaime II. CRD caja 86
Published Primary Sources:
El monasterio de Sijena: catálogo de documentos del Archivo de la Corona de Aragón
El Monasterio de Sijena: catalogo de documentos del Archivo de la Corona de Aragón
Documentos de Sigena
Secondary Sources:
Catalonia Religiosa
;
El arte en el monasterio de Sigena
;
Las damas de Sigena
;
Blanca de Aragon y de Anjou, XVI Priora del Real Monasterio de Sijena
;
El Monasterio de Sijena y Miguel Serveto
;
La regla del Monasterio de Santa María de Sixena
;
Le prieuré de Sigena aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles: Étude architecturale
;
Queen Sancha of Aragón and the Royal Monastery of Sigena
;
Sigena: Romanesque Painting in Spain and the Winchester Bible Artists
;
El Real Monasterio de Sijena: introducción a la historia del monasterio
;
Acta de apertura y reconocimiento de los sepulcros reales del Monasterio de Sijena
;
El Monasterio de Sijena: la serie prioral
;
Observaciones iconograficas sobre las pinturas de la sala capitular de Sijena
;
The Pictorial Program of the Chapter House of Sigena
;
Las pinturas de Sijena
;
El monasterio dúplice de Sigena
;
El Real Monasterio de Sigena, 1188-1300
;
The Pictorial Program of the Chapterhouse of Sigena
;
La infanta Doña María, monja de Sijena, y su política castellana durante la minoría de Alfonso XI
;
Repurcusiones de la Guerra de Castilla en el Monasterio de Sijena (1356-1375)
;
Instituto de Estudios Sijenenses “Miguel Servet”/Michael Servetus Institute: A Reference Center for Servetian Studies
, under "History"
Contributors: Eileen McKiernan-Gonzàlez; Marie Kelleher
