The monastery was founded in the 11th century by Alfonso II of Asturias as a Benedictine monastery originally staffed by twelve monks.

It was initially aimed to look after and render worship to the newly discovered tomb of the Apostle James, which brought a pilgrimage status to the city.

[citation needed] Once the Benedictine monks left the monastery in 1499, it was occupied by cloistered nuns and dedicated to Pelagius of Córdoba, a 10th-century Galician child captured, martyred by order of the Caliph Abd-ar-Rahman III of al-Andalus after his refusal to renounce of his Christian faith.

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