6 November 2007

Global Seminars & Invited Speaker Series

NEW VIEWS ON THE CATHEDRAL OF PAMPLONA

The cathedral church of Pamplona: a place for the bishop and the king

Ms. Clara Fernández Ladreda.
Chairof Navarrese Heritage and Art

The Pamplona cathedral is possibly the best example of the joint participation of the monarchy and the episcopate in the construction of the building among Spanish cathedrals. In fact, this partnershiptook place from the beginning of the works and lasted until its completion, and seems to have been maintained in a climate of good harmony.

As far as the prelates are concerned, the process begins with Cardinal Martín de Zalba (1377-1403), in whose time the construction of the Gothic church began in 1394 and who also took part in it, as is shown by the presence of his arms: pillar of the nave body and core topicof the chapel of San Martín. The latter was probably intended to be the bishop's funeral chapel, although it was never built as such.

For his part, Bishop Sancho Sánchez de Oteiza (1420-1425), together with King Carlos III, financed the southern nave and the adjoining chapels. This partnershipwas reflected in the alternative presence of the coats of arms of the bishop and the king on the keystones of the vaults. In addition, one of the chapels, that of Saint John the Evangelist, was used as a burial chapel for the prelate and houses his tomb, attributed to the famous Jean Lome and his workshop.
 

Pamplona Cathedral. Tomb of Bishop Sancho Sánchez de Oteiza

Finally, under the government of Cardinal Antoniotto Gentil Pallavicini (1492-1507), the building was completed. Curiously, despite his status as commendatory bishop, who never visited his see, he contributed to the works. He must have paid for part of the ambulatory, as evidenced by the presence of his coat of arms on one of the keystones and on a tomb - today the door to the sacristy of the canons. He did not limit himself to the church, but should also be credited with the decorations of the western and northern façades of the cloister, crowned with his coats of arms.

On the side of the monarchy, the leading role was undoubtedly played by Charles III the Noble (1387-1425), seconded by his wife, Eleanor of Castile. He was the main benefactor of the cathedral's work, as both documentation and heraldry prove. The former also clarifies the reasons for his generosity: the close relationship between the cathedral and the kings of Navarre (including himself), as it was the setting for their coronation and their pantheon. It indicates the parts of the building that can be related to the sovereigns: the northern nave (whose keystones show the coat of arms of Leonor), the southern nave, the adjoining chapels and the sections leading to the cloister (whose keystones show the coat of arms of Carlos III alternating with that of Bishop Oteiza), and the easternmost section of the central nave (keystones with the coat of arms of Carlos III). 

On the other hand, following the tradition of his predecessors, Charles III wanted to be buried in Pamplona cathedral, but he surpassed them by far with the magnificence of his sepulchre, executed by the great sculptor Jean de Lome. The location in the choir, the most important part of what had been built up to that time, is also striking, especially if we compare it with the location of the episcopal tombs, relegated to the side chapels - the chapel of San Martín, the chapel of San Juan Evangelista - as it is exceptional for a cathedral (although not for a monastery or convent). Undoubtedly the aim of goalwas to highlight the monarch's leading role in financing the works and the cathedral's status as a royal pantheon.

More relevant, because of its novelty, is the hypothesis that the sovereign "lent" to the cathedral businesshis own master builder, the famous Jean Lome de Tournai. Until now, his participation as master builder of the cathedral had been delayed until 1439 (the year in which it was attested in documents) and before that his intervention as a sculptor was only admitted (leaving aside the royal tomb executed in Olite) in the door of San José and the sepulchre of Bishop Oteiza. Personally, I think it is possible to anticipate Lome's mastery to the 1420s and to relate to him and his workshop(in addition to the door and tombs mentioned above) the sculptural decoration of the southern chapels, sections leading to the cloister and part leaveof the arm of Wayside CrossNorth, particularly the corbels, some of which seem to be inspired by those of the plorants of the royal tomb and are of great quality. 

Pamplona Cathedral. Ploranting corbel of the royal tomb

The daughter and successor of Charles III, Doña Blanca (1425-1441) continued in this, as in almost everything else, the policy of her father. Thus, under her reign, another four sections of the vaulting of the central nave were built, and the nave was considered finished - the sixth section was built much later, in the 18th century, in connection with the work on the façade - although her arms and emblems only appear on the first three, while the last, the most westerly, bears the coat of arms of Bishop Martín de Peralta (1426-1457).

On the other hand, it is interesting to note that - in the light of certain documents from the Chamber of Accounts - it seems to be possible to affirm that the sovereign is buried in Pamplona Cathedral and not in Santa María de Nieva, as had traditionally been believed.

The royal cast was completed by Catalina de Foix and Juan de Albret (1486-1513), the last privative kings of Navarre, under whose reign the building was completed. Although, unlike their predecessors, their coats of arms do not appear anywhere, it is possible that they participated in some way in the works. 

Pamplona Cathedral. Corbel of the Santa Catalina chapel

Indeed, it was the sovereigns - and not the bishop of the day - who requested the famous Bull of 1501 from Pope Alexander VI, granting indulgences to those who contributed to the conservation and restoration of the cathedral, and to its liturgical endowment and furnishings. But even more interesting, because it has gone much more unnoticed, is a document from 1496 in which they founded a chaplaincy for the soul of their mother, Doña Magdalena, Princess of Viana, whose chaplaincy is linked to a "small" altar with its corresponding altarpiece dedicated to the Pietà, which by then had already been made, and in front of which Doña Magdalena was buried. It is not so much that the kings appear here as patrons of a work of movable art - the altarpiece of the Pietà - as that from later news and datawe can deduce that the aforementioned altarpiece and its altar were located in the main chapel, from which it can be deduced that by 1496 the main chapel and, therefore, the cathedral - since it was the last thing to be done - were finished, which means an advance on the traditional date of 1501, given by the Bull. It is also very significant that the aforementioned chapel became known as the "royal chapel", as this and the placement of the tomb of Doña Magdalena in it - and not in the choir where the tomb of Charles III and the remains of the previous kings were - suggest that the Albrets, maintaining the tradition of using the cathedral as a royal pantheon, wanted to go a step further and move the tomb of Doña Magdalena to the cathedral, wanted to go a step further and move the location of this pantheon - although only as far as their dynasty was concerned - from the choir to the main chapel, which after its completion had become the main part of the new temple, displacing it, and which, moreover, had been erected under their reign and perhaps with financial aidtheirs?

Main chapel. Vaults