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Discover the reliquary of the Romanesque capitals!
Located on the first floor of the Treasure Room and built by Bishop Jacques Hurault, this brightly-lit room, with its beautiful 16th-century door, housed the chapter library and preserved the liturgical books. These included 35 manuscripts dating from before the year 1000, bearing witness to Autun's religious influence throughout the Middle Ages. The collection is now housed in the Autun municipal library.
Since 1877, this room has been displaying the originals of 23 sculpted capitals from the cathedral's choir and transept, created in the 12th century when the cathedral was built. Copies of these capitals have been placed in their original positions in the cathedral's chancel and transept.
Of these, 7 illustrate episodes from the Old and New Testaments, while 3 feature fantastical creatures. Some still retain traces of their original polychromy and surprising details, such as small glass beads placed in the eyes of the figures.
Centre for National Monuments / Moteur&Action
An original capital, The Sleep of the Magi, is displayed here and is one of the cathedral's masterpieces. It depicts the Magi, warned in a dream by an angel not to return to Herod. The scene captures the moment when the angel touches the hand of the first Magi: he opens both eyes, his neighbour only half-opens one, while the third is still fast asleep.
Finally, 9 capitals bear witness to the extraordinary richness of the Romanesque plant decoration. The sculptors rivalled each other in their inventiveness in the treatment of foliage and floral motifs, creating a rhythm and movement that enliven the architecture as a whole.
Centre for National Monuments / Moteur&Action
