King
Afonso Henriques and Queen
Mafalda donated, in gratitude to the clergy of Rodrigo Esomenis, land to the medic Soeiro Teodoniz, representing parcels in Echega, Godesteo, Sendino, Alvito and Taoi, in
Travanca de Tavares, that included houses, vegetable gardens, plantations, water and pastureland in July 1154. The medic abandoned his profession (in 1161) and founded a small monastery associated with the Church of Santa Maria, in
Moimenta da Beira. Garcia Viegas and Godilha Moniz later sold their lands in Maceira to Soeiro. In 1162,
D. Odório, bishop of Viseu, transferred the church in Moimenta de Azurara to the fledgling monastery, without imposing any tributes. On 1 September 1165, Afonso Pais donates to the monastery a farm, following Benedictine observances, which was complimented in 1170 by Gonçalo Pais and Guterres, with the latter in donating lands in Maceira Dão, where they friars would move. A decade later, in 1188, the monastery joined the
Cistercian Order, and began depending on the regional authority of
Alcobaça, until their extinction. These comments were received by the bishopric in Alcobaça, who sent Father António de
Almoster the following year to Maceira Dão, in order to evaluate the state of the congregation. There is no indication if the building received any improvements. By 1553, the rents received at the monastery were superior to 300$000 réis, and in 1560, the incorporation of female monastery of São João de Vale de Medeiros, resulted in an increase in the total income at the monastery. The number of friars reached a maximum of ten in 1564, reaching the limit for the community, at the time. In 1567 the abbots begin to be elected by
triennium. In 1613, a project to reconstruct the cloister and many of the convent's dependencies began. These projects would persist off-and-on until 1668–1669, with the termination of the reconstruction of the main portico. Around 1632, the number of friars surpasses 15 clerics. In February 1666, the monastery contracts Sebastião da Mota to execute a silver
thurible, similar to those used in the Chapel of Senhor, in the Cathedral of Viseu. Some of the monastery's properties in Fornos de Algodres were sold, on 28 December 1720, to Manuel de Gouveia in order to pay the costs of public works. On 2 March 1744, the abbot contracts José Ribeiro Alves and João Martins (Santiago de Encourado, Barcelos),
João da Costa Coelho (Eixo, Barcelos) and João Fernandes Ribeiro (São João de Tarouca) to rebuild the church, dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Assunção (
Our Lady of the Assumption), for 6.100$000 réis, and included all the material costs. A similar project was undertaken in the second half of the 18th century, this time to the Chapel of Senhora da Cabeça (
Lady of the Head), at a time when the monastery had 17 cells for its clergy. The original project on the main church was completed by the stonemasons José Duarte (São Miguel de Fontoura, Valença) and António Barbosa da Cunha (Ferreira de Coura, Viana) in 1779. Once this project was completed, the monastery contracted (on 28 Setembro 1779) José da Fonseca Ribeiro to make the
chancel. Pascoal José Parente moved to the monastery in 1786 in order to complete several paintings, including specifically the
"Sagrada Família" (
Sacred Family). By the time of the French invasion of Portugal in 1810, the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Cabeça was not yet completed. In 1834, under the anti-clerical reforms of the Liberal government, the convent was closed. A formal inventory of the possessions and properties owned by the monastery began on 14 June 1834, with the buildings and site sold to a businessman in Visue: António da Silva. On 13 November 1835, in an ordinance, signed by Minister Silva Carvalho, the bell and clock were given to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia of Mangualde. Two years later, in 1837, the redoubt was incorporated into the municipality of Mangualde. The documents from the extinct convent, deposited in the seminary in Viseu were destroyed after a fire. On 31 July 1845, the
Irmandade das Almas (
Brotherhood of Souls) in Mangualde, purchase two lateral altarpieces and a painting of the
"Fuga para o Egipto" (
Flight into Egypt) for 48$000 réis.
Republic After the mismanagement of various property-owners and the Rosada family from Tibaldinho, which almost left it in ruins, the monastery was bought by António Jorge Ferreira, on 22 Abril 1965, for 728.720$00 réis. During a municipal council session, on 15 May 1978, a proposal to classify various properties in Mangualde, including the monastery, was debated. A petition was sent to the Director General of Cultural Patrimony () on 16 May, requesting that the monastery be classified as a
property of public interest (). Throughout the 20th century several minor projects were completed to stabilize the previous damage: a new door was completed for the church; a cement staircase was added to the principal facade; a partial repair, in cement, of the right, lateral facade was completed; and the opening of new access-ways were undertaken. Yet, it would not be until the 10 August 1998, before the Ministry of Culture () re-classified the building as a
National Monument (). In July 2006, a risk assessment of the structure was completed by the
Direcção Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (DGEMN). ==Architecture==