Convent of Santa María de las Dueñas, Medina del Campo

Description

The Convent of Santa María de las Dueñas, later known as the Monastery of Santa María la Real, was founded in 1233 by Queen Leonor. It was built next to a hermitage where, according to tradition, the Virgin Mary had appeared (Corredera, 1973). In its early years, the religious community that lived there followed the Premonstratensian rule; however, in 1402 it became a Dominican monastery. Queen Leonor, granddaughter of King Alfonso XI, donated to the monastery 11,000 doubloons corresponding to the inheritance that was assigned to her after she was widowed by Ferdinand I of Aragon (Sanz, 1991).

Bibliography

• CORREDERA, Eduardo (1973): "Medina del Campo. Santa María de los Huertos", vol. 3, en Diccionario de Historia Eclesiástica de España, Instituto Enrique Flórez, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid.
• SANZ, M.ª Josefa (1991): "Documentos del Monasterio de Santa María la Real de Medina del Campo en la Biblioteca universitaria de Oviedo", nº 18, Historia. Instituciones. Documentos, pp. 445-448.