We are in the centre of the atrium which protects the north side of the building. Towards the outside, the parade ground would connect the sanctuary with the Castillazo. Today its silhouette is suggested by the water reservoir and the wall of the former cemetery.
On our perimeter walk we have reached the north façade. Archaeological excavations have confirmed that the main door of the Romanesque temple was located here, and that its proportions were those of the reused façade of the tower. What we see today is a Gothic façade made by the same workshop that carved the decorative corbels of this part of the building. It is very likely that in time, it is somewhat earlier than the southern façade.
The most striking feature is the continuous band which decorates the capitals of the platband. The themes which appear are heterogeneous and, at times, of problematic interpretation. Starting from the left, the following have been identified: an Atlantean (which actually underpins the tracery of the gallery), a monkey with grapes touching his backside, an exhibitionist touching his genitals with a bottle in his hand, two moments of Samson’s fight against the lion, two women fighting in front of a barrel, a monkey playing the bagpipes, and, finally, a hybrid creature combat.
The right side starts with several scenes illustrating the journey of the sinful souls to hell: first a young girl carrying a demon on her head screams, while she is exorcised by a priest before whom could be her mother; in the next, perhaps the same young girl, now serene, hands an object to two devils who carry the souls of the damned; finally the mouth of Leviathan with his hellhound shows us hell and the damned who scream into its jaws. There is an evident association between the scream of the possessed young woman and the damned souls. The decorative band follows with two bearded faces and two monstrous hybrids trampling one of these. The set is crowned by the head of a queen who, like the initial Atlantean, already underpins the tracery of the gallery.
Everything seems to allude to the fight against sin to attain the salvation of souls. On the left, this dichotomy is denoted by sinners (irascible, exhibitionist, lustful and drunk), and the strength of Samson, who demonstrated his strength by defeating the lion, the image of sin. Like Samson, on the other hand, the exorcised young woman shows victory over the devil. A hypothetical interpretation; and a good presentation for the access to a Sanctuary such as Ujué.
Let’s continue moving through the perimeter gallery. Once reaching the Romanesque apses press number 22.