CLOISTER

The Gothic cloister of the Oviedo Cathedral is in a non-canonical position with respect to the temple. Instead of being attached to the south nave, as usual, it is located southeast of the apse and attached to the Holy Chamber, on the site where there was a Romanesque cloister from the late 11th or early 12th centuries. .

The works began around the year 1300 in the surroundings of the Chapter House, the first Asturian building in the Gothic style. Between the years 1300 and 1345 the northern bay and the first two sections of the western one were built, joining the Chapter House with the primitive pre-Romanesque basilica of San Salvador. Between 1345-1400, and with the patronage of King Alfonso XI and the bishops Don Sancho (1348-1369) and Don Alfonso (1371-1376), work continued on the western and southern bays. Finally, coinciding with the episcopate of Diego Ramírez de Guzmán (1412-1441), the cloister was closed by the eastern panda. Throughout these three construction stages, the evolution of the Gothic can be seen in the tracery of the arches, from the classical style on the north side, through the Mannerist style, to the so-called flamboyant style of the east bay.

In the keys of the vaults the shields of the Crown of Castile and of the Oviedo bishops who financed the works are preserved. A wide variety of themes are displayed on the capitals, from heraldry to classical mythology, including characters and scenes of customs, legends, Church dogmas and animals taken from medieval bestiaries.

In the Middle Ages, the cloister served as a funerary function. Most of the burials were located in the northern panda, attached to the Holy Chamber, since proximity to the relics and the bodies of the martyrs in the crypt was sought. Currently sculpted on the walls are a total of 8 arches, highlighting that of Dean Pedro Gay located on the south side.

In the archaeological excavations carried out in the 40s of the 20th century, some Romanesque reliefs were found that have been related to those of San Pedro and San Pablo that are embedded on both sides of the access door to the Chapter House and dated in the twelfth century. These reliefs are considered part of the sculptural decoration of the Romanesque cloister.

In the Church Museum, located in the upper cloister, there is a sculpture representing King Alfonso XI (1312-1350). On the occasion of his visit to the Cathedral in 1345 and the donation of money to finance the works, the royal effigy was placed on a bracket in the west panda of the cloister. The image that currently occupies that place is a copy of the original, transferred to the Museum for conservation reasons.

Between the years 1733 and 1740, the architect Francisco de la Riva Ladrón de Guevara raised the upper floor of the cloister. The same architect is responsible for the door of the Gothic cloister that opens onto the Corrada del Obispo, called Puerta de la Limosna because from there the canons delivered alms to the poor of the city.

Dependencies attached to the cloister

Attached to the corridors of the cloister, in addition to the chapter house, are the pilgrims' cemetery and the chapter archive.

The pilgrims' cemetery is a small open courtyard between the Holy Chamber and the head of the cathedral. In the 10th century, a portico was attached to the crypt of Santa Leocadia, which functioned as an episcopal pantheon. However, it does not appear that this courtyard was used to bury pilgrims who died in the city, despite the fact that the Cathedral was obliged to bury them. For this purpose, a chapel was built that closed this space and had its access through an open gate to the street of San Vicente. This chapel was demolished in the 1930s.

In the cemetery is the centenary olive tree that, according to tradition, was brought from the Holy Land by a pilgrim.

The chapter archive, located in the eastern panda, is accessed through a hallway. The archive occupies three rooms, the main one dating from 1780. It was built to house the gymnasium or school for the study of the Holy Scriptures and in the 19th century it became an archive.

The cloister was restored between November 2002 and December 2003 within the set of works of the Master Plan. Throughout these works, in which the walls and sculptures were cleaned and consolidated, the paintings on the vaults appeared.

https://catedraldeoviedo.com/conoce-cada-rincon/claustro/