Founded by Countess Ermessinda of Barcelona (Widow of Count Ramon Borrell). She purchased an alod where there had once been a small church dedicated to Saint Daniel from her brother Pere (bishop of Gerona) in 1019. She sponsored the rebuilding of th church and the construction of the benedictine community.
(Dates for each abbess come from documents in which they are named as abbesses. It is very likely that many individual abbess' terms spanned far more years than noted herein. Likewise, a number of abbesses are not note here, as the various gaps make obvious.) Bonafilla, 1028; Ermengarda, 1045; Arsendis, 1067-1089; Adelaida, 1094-1099; Ermessendis, 1120-1142; Botarella (formerly prioress), 1154; Ermessendis, 1156-1171; Maria, 1173-1196; Agnes de Sitjar, 1197-1240 [?]; Berenguera de Palera, 1243-1254; Berenguera de Palagret (related to the Sitjar family), 1255-1283; Cecilia de Foixa (possibly the illegitimate daughter of Agnes de Foixa), 1283-1292; Agnes de Soler, 1292-1295; Ermengarda de Vilanova, 1298-1307; Beatriu de Cabrera, 1307-1333; Beatriu de Garriga, 1333-1344; Elisenda d'Alquer, 1345-1363; Ermessenda de Trilla, 1363-1377; Gueraua de Blanes, 1377-1392.
Usually around 12 (although as many as 24 signed a document in 1282).
Incorporated the priories of S. Maria del Mar de Calonge, S. Margarida de Vilanera, possibly S. Cugat del Far, and finally S. Maria de Valldemaria (1550).
The nuns' spiritual needs were seen to by two members of the cathedra chapter or other ordained members of the clergy from the diocese of Gerona: one to say mass for them, and another to hear their confessions. In addition, a confessor *extrordinarius* visited the community a few times each year.
Founder; Countess Mafalda (1085). The majority of the other donors were women of the minor nobility. Bernat de Sitjar and Hugh d'Empuries are the only two male donors recorded prior to the year 1300.
Daughters of well-off burghers and military families from throughout the diocese of Gerona, and sometimes beyond. Daughters of the Sitjar family were especially prominent during the Middle Ages.
Wealthy.
At the end of the 13th century, the community possessed a substantial number of buildings, churches, farms and other properties located in more than 40 localities throughout the diocese of Gerona, including many the same valley as the monastery itself, in Vilablareix and Vilademuls. For a more detailed listing, see Col.lecció diplomàtica de Sant Daniel de Girona (924-1300), pages 29-47.
S. Daniel de Galligants, cloister, S. Daniel de Galligants, entry portal, S. Daniel de Galligants, church apse and tower, S. Daniel de Galligants, church, and S. Daniel de Galligants, church tower. The church is romanesque (12th century), with 15th c. changes. The church dome is octagonal. The rectangular cloister has a romanesque ground floor, built in the 13th century, and a gothic top floor, added in the 15th century.
Much of the current church is not the original, but rather a 12th century reconstruction. The buildings are currently being restored. When finished, some of the upper levels of teh cloister will be used as a dormitory for female students at the University of Gerona. The interior of the church has also been renovated, although the basic structure is the original.
The body of Saint Daniel (apparently translated from Arles de Provenca) is located in the crypt, preserved in a gothic sarcophagus (1345) attributed to a "Master Eloi."
Monastery maintains its own archive, which preserves many of the douments related to the community's history, although much has been lost. (See Arxiu Sant Daniel, Fons Vallmaria.)
Col.lecció diplomàtica de Sant Daniel de Girona (924-1300). It should also be noted that the first 50 pages of this volume give a fairly detailed account of the history and prosopography of the community.
Els Monestirs Catalans, pages 180-181; Cataleg dels Monestirs Catalans, p. 115-116; The Monastery of Sant Daniel and the Community of Girona, 1020-1370
S. Daniel is the oldest female monastery in Catalonia still in continuous use. Their church served as a parish church during the Middle Ages.
