Almost at the end of the passage, already on the north side of the building, behind a metal balcony, the ruins of a large rectangular and longitudinal building are preserved at our feet. This is the «University» or General Study, whose construction was financed and furthered by King Charles II in 1376. The documentation which specifies the expenses and other circumstances of its construction process up to 1379 has been preserved. It should be noted that all the expenses of the royal household were already recorded in the documentation of the Cámara de Comptos, an institution which still audits the accounts of the Government of Navarre today.
The project contemplated the construction of a large rectangular body divided into two levels, of which the lower level has been identified as the kitchen, cellar and refectory. The upper floor slab would be placed on diaphragm arches, the height of which is given by the horizontal groove that runs along the perimeter walls. Perhaps this level would have been used as a student dormitory. We see that when Gothic architecture had to be practical, it was concerned with the rigorously structural, building unornamented buildings which reproduce the construction systems of the great Cistercian or Mendicant monastic compounds.

It seems that the work was not completed during the reign of Charles II. The chronicles attribute the suspension of the work to the defeat of the king in the war against France and Castile, certified by the Treaty of Briones in 1379. However, the various traces of roofs and mechinals on the high walls seem to indicate that finally the building, in one way or another, was completed. It can be assumed that during the Modern Age the mansion would first fall into disuse, and then into final ruin.
Let’s continue moving forward. Once we reach the north façade, press number 21.