Description

The portal connecting the cathedral's presbytery with the bishop's chapel (now sacristy) added in the mid-13th century was given symbolic decoration. The leafy capitals feature three-sided imposts supported by glazed lions, one holding a lamb in its paws (symbol of fidelity) and the other a scroll (identified with a book - symbol of divine laws and the dogmas of the faith). Supporting their backs, the archivolt was entwined with a glazed ribbon and filled in the resulting fields with rosettes to obtain a keystone in the shape of a human head with a protruding tongue, which is interpreted as an expression of the bishop's judicial dignity. The portal was probably also the setting for the bishop's throne and the lions and head placed in it symbolise a court that is both merciful and just.