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Sant Daniel |
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According to early traditions, Sant Daniel, an eremitic monk from Armenia, died decapitated in Arles in Provençe in 888.
His disciples fled to the Mediterranean with his body in order to prevent his captors from disposing of his body in the ocean. Once his disciples arrived near Girona, they buried his body in the valley called Tenebrosa. Shortly thereafter began the veneration of the saint's remains. A small church was built on the burial site of Sant Daniel, dedicated to Sant Salvador and Sant Daniel, and became the parish church for the parishioners of the valley.
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The Foundation |
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The monastery's archive houses two very important vellum documents- the foundation charters for the monastery and its community.
The first, dated June 16, 1015, is the sale of a church and its surrounding lands which the bishop of Girona, Pere Roger, along with his canons, made to the Countess Ermessenda and her husband. The countess paid her brother Pere Roger, the bishop of Girona, one hundred ounces of pure gold to establish a Benedictine community of nuns. According to the charter, the bishop and his canons were to use the money to repair their antiquated cathedral, in such need of repairs that when it rained, mass could not be celebrated. In addition to the gold, the countess and her husband also paid the cathedral chapter grants of land situated in the Mercadal of Girona.
The second foundation charter, dated March 15, 1018, pertains to the recently widowed countess Ermessenda's donation to the nuns of Sant Daniel of all her lands located in the countship of Girona. Count Berenguer Ramón, Ermessenda's son, also appears in the charter to support his mother's donation and to preclude any disputes over the donated land. The countess specifies that she wishes the nuns to live in the house and chapel of Sant Daniel. This document reveals that by 1018 the monastery was already an established and working community of nuns.
Since its foundation, a community of nuns has and continues to this day to follow the monastic life established in the rule of Saint Benedict. It is the only female Benedictine community in Catalunya to continually reside in the same location where it was established. Today, the church of Sant Daniel, which is attached to the monastery, serves as the parish church for its surrounding lay community.
According to some historians, the Countess Matilda de Pul•la Calabria (1050/60 to 1108), wife to the Count Ramón Berenguer II, and later Viscount Eimeric of Narbona, after her last husband's death, returned to Catalunya to reside in the monastery of Sant Daniel. Truthfully, this is merely a hypothesis since there is no documentary proof that Countess Matilda resided in the monastery.
In the 15th century the Papacy annexed the Benedictine priories of Santa Maria del Mar of Calonge (in 1424), Santa Margarida of Prat de Roses (in 1447), and the Cistercian monastery of Valldemaria (in 1560) to the monastery of Sant Daniel. These were very small communities, almost at the point of becoming extinct, mostly due to the high mortality of the Black Death, and later, to the constant economic threat of bandits and thieves. Yet, once annexed, the monastic life of these small communities came to an end. The monastery of Sant Daniel, in possession of the all the various priory's lands, safeguarded and preserved all monastic buildings, until the confiscation of these lands and buildings by papal decree in 1835. Of all these priories, only Santa Maria del Mar survives, and is owned by the city council of Calonge.
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17th to 20th Centuries |
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Throughout its history the nuns of Sant Daniel have been forced at different times to leave the monastery, but only for short periods and always during times of war.
The nuns evacuated during the "Guerra dels Segadors" in 1640, where they fled to houses belonging to the Archdeacon of Empordà.
During the Great War (la Gran Guerra) of 1793-1795, by order of the bishop, all the monastic communities of Girona abandoned the city since French troops were advancing toward Girona. Seeking a safe haven, the nuns of Sant Daniel resided in the Benedictine monastery of Sant Antón and Santa Clara of Barcelona for nearly a year. During their absence, the monastery became a military barrack.
After 1795 the nuns returned to Sant Daniel to find parts of the monastery destroyed by fire.
During the War of Independence, or the war with France, that lasted from 1808 to 1814, the community of nuns had to abandon their monastery and seek shelter in the homes of family and friends in Girona. At first the monastery was once again used as a military barrack, but later it became a hospital. Shortly before the end of the war, another fire nearly destroyed everything - all that remained was the church and cloister. The nuns of Sant Daniel re-established their communal life in a rented house on the famous street, la Força, once the main street of the Jewish Call. The nuns stayed in la Força until 1819, when a small portion of the monastery was rebuilt enough to allow their return. Over the following years the nuns dedicated themselves to restoring the monastery, but it was a slow process due to their limited finances.
The Civil War of 1936 to 1939 also affected the life of the community. Part of the monastery was used as a school, and the other part as a refuge for those homeless from the war. Once the war ended, the monastery remained under military control until 1940, when it was returned to the community of Sant Daniel. Throughout this period, the nuns had moved their communal life to a house situated next to the monastery.
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The Abbesses |
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Studies of the monastery's archival evidence has produced a nearly complete list of abbesses for the nuns of Sant Daniel. The first abbess located in the monastic charters is Bonafilla, who appears ten years after the monastery's foundation. Before 1548 there are some absences due to lack of documentation, but afterwards the chronology of abbesses is complete:
Bonafilla 1028
Ermengarda 1045
Arsinda 1067-1089
Adaleidis 1094-1099
Ermessenda 1120-1142
Botarella 1154
Ermessenda 1156-1171
Maria 1173-1196
Agnès 1197-1240
Berenguera de Palera 1243-1253
Berenguera de Palagret 1255-1283
Cecília de Foxà 1283-1292
Agnès de Soler 1295 (priora amb facultats de govern des de 1292)
Ermengarda de Vilanova 1298-1308
Beatriu de Cabrera 1307-1333 (electa en vida de l'anterior)
Beatriu de Garriga 1333-1345
Elisenda d'Alquer 1345-1363
Ermessenda de Trilla 1363-1377
Gueraua de Blanes 1379-1392
Sibil•la de Vilamarí 1392-1399
Alamanda de Güell 1401-1405
Abadia vacant 1406-1407
Ermessenda de Foxà ¿1407-1409?
Ermessenda de Montpalau 1409-1412
Constança de Cruïlles 1412-1420
Ermessenda de Vilamarí 1421-1431
Francesca de Palau 1432-1458
Beatriu de Pau 1459-1466
Aldonça de Biure 1466-1479
Violant Xatmar 1480-1507
Violant de Biure 1510-1525
Beatriu d'Alemany 1532-1547
Joana Sarriera 1548
Isabel d'Alemany 1548-1572
Joana des Catllar 1572-1575
Abadia vacant 1575-1578
Joana de Copons 1578-1610
Anna de Cruïlles 1610-1615
Contesina de Sant Celoni 1615-1623
Maria d'Olmera 1624-1625
Dionísia de Sant Celoni 1625-1644
Aldonça Jultrú 1644-1647
Cecília de Miró 1647-1660
Marianna de Raset 1661-1666
Isabel de Caramany 1666-1673
Margarida de Copons 1673-1677
Maria de Lanuça de Rocabertí 1677-1696
Àngela de Bas 1696-1705
Joana de Sandionís Pol 1706-1718
Teresa de Lanuça Oms 1718-1736
Agnès de Lanuça Oms 1736-1750
Elionor de Farnés de Marimon 1751-1768
Maria Rosa de Prat de Tord 1768-1777
Antònia de Tord de Prat 1777-1794
Rafaela de Prats de Ferrer 1795-1797
Marianna de Font de Camprodon 1797-1808
Abadia vacant 1808-1814
(Guerra de la Independència)
Marianna de Camps de Font 1815-1824
Ignàsia de Manresa d'Asprer 1824-1847
Caterina Pou Adroher 1848-1854
Maria Gràcia Quintana de Ferrer 1854-1870
Carme Albert Xauet 1870-1895
Maria Motger Aulet 1895-1900
Assumpció Cols Verdaguer 1900-1936
Abadia vacant (Guerra Civil) 1936-1939
Carme Poch Noguera 1939-1960
Maria Caterina Torra Miró 1960-1996 (priora-administradora des 1952 per jubilació de M. Carme Poch)
Maria Àngels Gener Huix 1996 (M. Caterina Torra, des de 1996, abadessa emèrita)
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