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carriage road built in 1857, or by the mountain rltilway opened in 1892. The ascent is also frequently made by a bridle path from the village of Collbat6, on the See also:

south-west, where there are some interesting caverns. The monastery stands 2910 ft. above sea-level upon a narrow See also:

PLATFORM (Fr. plateforme, i.e. ground plan)

platform on the edge of the Valle Malo. It owes its existence to an See also:

IMAGE (Lat. imago, perhaps from the same root as imitari, copy, imitate)

image of the Virgin, said to have been carved by St See also:

Luke, and brought to Barcelona by St See also:

Peter in A.U.

30. When the See also:

Moors invaded the See also:

province in 717 the image was taken to Montserrat, where a See also:

BENEDICTINE

Benedictine See also:

CONVENT (Lat. conventus, from convenire, to come together)

convent appears to have already existed, and hidden in a See also:

cave. In 88o Gondemar, See also:

bishop of See also:

VICH

Vich, was attracted to the cave by sweet sounds and smells, and there found the image, which he determined to take to See also:

MANRESA

Manresa. But at a certain spot on the mountain the image refused to proceed farther; there it was consequently deposited, and a See also:

CHAPEL

chapel was erected to contain it. See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

Round the chapel a nunnery was built, and in 976 this was enlarged and converted into a second Benedictine convent. The old monastery (monasterio antiguo) is chiefly in ruins. The cloisters, See also:

BELFRY (Mid. Eng. berfrey, through Med. Lat. berefredus, from Teut. bergfrid or bercvrit, which, according to the New Eng. Dict., is a combination of bergen, to protect, and frida, safety or peace; the word thus meaning a shelter; the change from r to 1,—

belfry and See also:

PART

part of the See also:

church were See also:

GOTHIC

Gothic of the 15th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century. The church of the new monastery (monasteyio actual) was built in See also:

RENAISSANCE, THE

Renaissance See also:

style under See also:

Philip II. (1500—1592) ; in 1811 it was partially burned, and in 188o a Romanesque See also:

apse was added. New buildings for the monks were erected under See also:

Ferdinand VII. (1784-1833), but See also:

LEFT

left partly unfinished. During the See also:

NAPOLEONIC

Napoleonic See also:

WARS

wars (1808—14) it was despoiled of the vast treasures which had accumulated during the See also:

MIDDLE

middle ages.

In 1835, as a result of the Carlist insurrection, the convent was deprived of its estates and the number of monks reduced to about twenty. The monks are largely occupied by the management of a school of sacred See also:

MUSIC

music. In 1874 the convent, which by a See also:

grant of See also:

Pope See also:

Benedict XIII. had been an See also:

INDEPENDENT

independent See also:

abbey since 1410, was made subject to the bishops of Barcelona. Nuestra Senora de Montserrat, Patrona de Cataluna (" Our See also:

LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

Lady of Montserrat, See also:

PATRON

Patron See also:

SAINT (lat. sanctus, " holy ")

Saint of See also:

CATALONIA (Cataluna)

Catalonia "), is one of the most celebrated images in Spain, and her church is visited annually by more than 6o,000 pilgrims. The image is small, See also:

black, and carved of See also:

wood, but possesses magnificent See also:

ROBES (Fr. robe, Late Lat. roba, raupa, meaning (1)

robes and jewels. In See also:

SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September 1881 it was solemnly crowned by See also:

Leo XIIL, who sent a See also:

CROWN

crown from See also:

Rome for that purpose. As the celebrity and sanctity of Montserrat increased, so did the number of devotees. See also:

IGNATIUS ('Iyvfrior)

Ignatius See also:

LOYOLA, ST IGNATIUS OF (1491–1556)

Loyola (1491–1556) laid his See also:

SWORD (0. Eng. sweord; ultimately from an Indo-European root meaning to wound)

sword upon the See also:

ALTAR (Lat. altare, from alias, high; some ancient etymological guesses are recorded by St Isidore of Seville in Etymologiae xv. 4)

altar of the Virgin, and, placing himself under her See also:

PROTECTION

protection, started from Montserrat to begin his new See also:

LIFE

life. Many eminent Spaniards, weary of the See also:

WORLD

world, have retired to this monastery to end their days. Some preferred solitary hermitages perched among the rocks. Of these there were fifteen, eleven of which once formed a via sacra, ending at the See also:

SUMMIT

summit of San Jeronimo. They were destroyed by the See also:

French, but the ruins of some remain.

There are also caves in the mountain, some of which were formerly occupied by monks. The most celebrated of these are the cave of the Virgin, in which the See also:

SANTA

santa imagen remained hidden until found by Gondemar, and the cave of Fray Juan Garin, a notorious sinner, who ended his days in the practice of revolting penances at Montserrat.

End of Article: MONTSERRAT, or MONSERRAT

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