Cloister of the Knights · Oseira (EN)

Crossing the vestibule, with a coffered vault, at the entrance to the monastery, and connected by a large semicircular arched doorway, is the cloister called the Hospedería or the cloister of the knights, so named because it was the stables and therefore the place where all those who arrived at the monastery on horseback would alight. Located behind the main façade, it has a long chronology from 1713 to 1759, and a measured composition of semicircular arches and straight windows, between pilasters with rich molding. The north and south wings have seven arches, the widest central one and a balcony in the second body, and the other two have nine. The upper galleries are covered with low ceilings, and the masonry segmental angles reinforce the architectural structure. In this cloister are the stables that form an architecturally interesting room with a sober barrel vault and stonework cribs embedded in the same wall. This cloister also has three vaulted rooms with simple ribbed vaulting, with ribs that start directly from the angles and join in the center in an undecorated circular keystone. They date from the 13th century and are the only surviving remains of the medieval monastery.