16 March 2011

Course

THE CATHEDRAL OF PAMPLONA. A VIEW FROM THE 21ST CENTURY

The cathedral church. Architectural embodiment of the Kingdom

Ms. Clara Fernández-Ladreda Aguadé.
University of Navarra

The Romanesque temple, predecessor of the Gothic, suffered a partial collapse, which affected the eastern part of the body of the naves, in July 1391. This made it necessary to erect a new Building, the first stone of which was laid in May 1394, according to a relief placed on the easternmost pillar of the nave body and a register of comptos. The construction was done in two phases, separated by a temporary interruption. 

The first extends from 1394 to 1449 - a date that can be deduced from the reports sent to the bishop and Cardinal Besarion - or 1451 - the outbreak of the civil war. 

The information about it comes from two types of sources. On the one hand, written sources: royal donations - dated 1397, 1400, 1412 and 1420-, accounting documents -summary of accounts from 1398 to 1407 and the account book of 1439- and legal documents -agreement between the chapter and the lord of Guendulain for the extraction of stone from the quarry of Guendulain-. On the other hand, the heraldic sources: coats of arms -of King Carlos III, Queen Leonor, Queen Blanca, Bishop and Cardinal Martín de Zalba, and Bishops Sancho Sánchez de Oteiza and Martín de Peralta el Viejo-. These last ones let us know the promoters -kings and bishops, to which we should add the chapter and the faithful-, at the same time that they provide us with information on the trajectory of the works.

Based on the sources in question, it can be calculated that during this phase the body of the naves with its chapels was built -although it must be taken into account that at that time it only had five bays, since the westernmost one was built in the 18th century, coinciding with the neoclassical façade-, the two connecting bays with the cloister, the lower parts of both transepts and the northern end of the ambulatory.

The sources also inform us of the intervention of two masters. The first would be Perrin de Semur, of French origin, documented in 1397 and 1403, who traced the initial project and directed the works from the beginning until his death in 1403. The second was Jehan de Lomme, originally from the southern Netherlands -now Belgium-, specifically from Tournai, better known as a sculptor, documented in 1349, although a series of indications suggest that his intervention in the work must have begun much earlier, and that he also modified the plans of his predecessor.
The second phase runs from 1481 - renewal of the agreement with the lord of Guendulain - to 1501 - bull of Alexander VI, granting indulgences to those who gave alms for the furnishing of the temple and the acquisition of liturgical ornaments, which suggests that the building itself was finished.

As in the previous stage, our knowledge comes from written sources -accounts book of 1487 and travel diary of Jerónimo Münzer of 1495- and heraldic sources -coats of arms of the bishop and cardinal Pallavicini-, although in this case they are much less abundant than in the preceding phase.

During this period, the upper part of both arms of the Wayside Cross -sales area and vaults- was completed, the ambulatory was finished and the main chapel was erected.

Judging by the sources, it seems that the financing was exclusively provided by the clergy -bishop and chapter- and private individuals, position . Juan Martínez de Oroz is mentioned as the master builder, although it seems that he limited himself to the material execution, but following the plans of his predecessors.
 

Pamplona Cathedral. Interior, ensemble
Photo: Carlos Martínez Álava