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Monastery of Santa Maria de Carbajal

The monastery of Santa María de Carbajal is a convent of Benedictine nuns popularly known as "las Carbajalas"; it is located in the city of León (Spain) in the Húmedo neighborhood within the Old Town, and some of its buildings face the Market Square. Its origin dates back to the mid-12th century when some nuns from the monastery of San Pelayo in León were transferred to the place of Carbajal de la Legua. From that moment on, they took the name of Santa María de Carbajal. They remained in this area for 452 years until they moved back to the city of León in 1600.

Historical background
Ramiro II had his palace in this city and founded the monastery of San Salvador de Palat del Rey (931-951) alongside it, as well as a cemetery, considered the first Leonese royal pantheon. The king gathered a community of nuns from royalty for this monastery, appointing his daughter Elvira Ramírez as the abbess. There was another monastery called San Pelayo, and it was there that the new community was transferred. The nuns remained in this place for 20 years until the raids of Almanzor, starting from 988. In February 995, the nuns who still remained in León and the relics of the child martyr were withdrawn to Oviedo, where the monastery of San Juan Bautista came to be called San Pelayo.

During the time of Alfonso V, grandson of Sancho I, the monastery of San Pelayo de León was restored, and the entire complex integrated by the palace, royal pantheon, and monastery of San Salvador de Palat del Rey was transferred there, and the nuns returned from Oviedo. Queen Sancha Alfónsez de León, daughter of Alfonso V and married to Fernando I, was a secular abbess of this monastery of San Pelayo. These kings enriched it with the relics of San Isidoro and San Vicente, as well as with treasures and a considerable heritage. In 1148, Infanta Sancha Raimúndez (sister of Alfonso VII and great-granddaughter of Sancha Alfónsez) exchanged the community of regular canons of San Agustín residing in the town of Carbajal de la Legua with the nuns of the monastery of León. From that year on, San Isidoro de León was elevated to an abbey directly dependent on Rome, with the Augustinian canons as its responsible party.

In October 1151, Infanta Sancha donated to the monastery and its abbess, Mayor, the monastery of San Juan de Grecisco, located near that of San Isidoro, along with all the belongings of the monastery in León and in the places of Torneros, Grulleros, Banuncias, Grisuela del Páramo, and Santa Cristina del Páramo for the sustenance of the nuns.

Transfer of the nuns to Carbajal de la Legua. Return to León
The nuns thus remained established in Carbajal de la Legua in a monastery that was henceforth called Santa María de Carbajal. This new stage lasted for 452 years. During this time, the community managed to acquire a good heritage thanks to the donations of kings and bishops, as well as the dowries provided by the novices. At the end of the 16th century, a new transfer back to the city of León was being prepared. The nuns requested this change, citing economic, religious, and even health reasons, as they claimed that the swampy area was causing diseases. Thus, in 1600, thirty Benedictine nuns—all belonging to the Leonese nobility—arrived in the city of León, bringing along their rich archive. Chronicles recount this arrival and how they were received with great ceremony. The Quiñones de Alcedo family offered the nuns a place to take refuge: outside the Roman walls, in the neighborhood then called the New Borough in the Grain Square, also known as the Market Square and Santa María del Camino Square. As a reminder of this donation, a commemorative plaque can be seen in the main chapel, along with the coats of arms of this lineage. In the 21st century, the Benedictine community still resides there, a teaching community that also participates each year in certain events organized by different brotherhoods in the Holy Week of León. They are part of the route of the Four Convents along with the Barefoot Clarists, Recollet Augustinians, and Conceptionists.
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