Chapter House (Sala Do Capitulo)
The Chapter House reminds the visitors of the military reason for its foundation: two sentinels guard the tombs of two unknown soldiers killed in World War I.
This square room is especially notable for its star vault lacking a central support and spanning a space of 19 square meters. This was such a daring concept at the time that condemned prisoners were used to perform the task. It was completed after two failed attempts. When the last scaffolds were removed, it is said that Huguet spent the night under the vault in order to silence his critics.
The stained-glass Renaissance window in the east wall dates from 1508. It depicts scenes of the Passion and is attributed to the Portuguese painters Master João and Francisco Henriques.
Read more about this topic: Batalha Monastery
Famous quotes containing the words chapter and/or house:
“Theory may be deliberate, as in a chapter on chemistry, or it may be second nature, as in the immemorial doctrine of ordinary enduring middle-sized physical objects.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)
“I came on a great house in the middle of the night
Its open lighted doorway and its windows all alight,
And all my friends were there and made me welcome too;
But I woke in an old ruin that the winds howled through;
And when I pay attention I must out and walk
Among the dogs and horses that understand my talk.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)