The Romanesque capitals of the interior

The play of variations on the same topic that can be seen in the chapel capitals is striking. Its vegetal repertoire, with a subject of leaves that was new at the time for Navarre, is sometimes enlivened with balls at the angles. It is very section of the schematizations of split leaves and palmettes of the Languedocian-Compostelan tradition that had predominated in the first two thirds of the 12th century. In the chevet of Santa María de Tudela, the acanthus leaves triumph, with carefully carved lobed entrances and projections, sometimes ornamented with trefoil orifices. Antecedents of the Tudela designs can be found, for example, in the western doorway of Chartres Cathedral and in the chevet of Saint-Denis, near Paris. Closer designs can be seen in the cathedral of Sigüenza.

The pillars and pilasters of the naves have considerably different capitals. Some are still indebted to motifs present in the chevet of the church and the cloister, but incorporate novelties in the proportions of the baskets and in the themes represented. The pillars of Wayside Cross stand out, with facing pairs of mules or donkeys with halter walking against a background of leaves, a motif that is not very frequent in Romanesque figuration. Local scholars related them to the mount of King Sancho el Fuerte in the battle of Navas de Tolosa; however, the proposal of Faustino Menéndez-Pidal, who demonstrated that the mules corresponded to the family emblem of one of the most outstanding patrician lineages of medieval Tudela, the Baldovín, as can be seen in their document subscription seals and in some tombs, is much more accurate. Perhaps their presence responds to the desire to leave report of those who contributed significantly to the financing of the temple (Guillem Baldovín appears in a document of 1178 as guarantor of the chapter).

Other capitals of these same pillars are decorated with pearly leaves and there are also some with pairs of birds facing each other, a motif that is very common in Romanesque repertoires. In this case it is very doubtful that they have the emblematic meaning proposed by some historians, since the eagles of the members of the de l'Aigle family, who were lords of Tudela, always appear spread out in the subscription signs and validation seals, while in the capitals of Santa María de Tudela they are depicted sideways, with a thick body and legs in walking action. We also see fantastic animals, hybrids, with dragon heads and curled tails, sometimes flanking seated male figures, reminiscent of the legendary topic of Alexander the Great's ascension among the griffins. In others, humans stand and strive to hold the dragons by the neck.