Una peculiar manifestación del poder episcopal en la Catedral de Lugo. Don Pedro López de Aguiar y su proyecto de dignificación de la capilla de Santo Domingo

Abstract

In the thirteenth-century program of architectural construction in the diocese of Lugo, in which Bishop Pedro López de Aguiar played the leading role, the building that would later come to be known as the royal chapel, in the Cathedral of Lugo, stands out. The traditional interpretation fosters an assumption that royal sponsorship lay behind this whole process, starting from an alleged ordinance given by King Enrique II of Trastámara. However, a detailed analysis seems to suggest a very different interpretation that reflects the bishop`s own ability in government. Using to his own advantage the monarch`s death and the ensuing coronation of Juan I, he obtained the grant of several important favours (mercedes) for the support of the cathedral chapter. At the same time he succeeded in establishing a direct relationship between the royal family and the cathedral of Lugo. Prom this relationship a special status is awarded to the chapel of St. Dominic —founder of the order to which the bishop himself belongs— which subsequently becomes the "royal chapel". And finally, at the entrance to the new royal chapel, the family arms of Aguiar are placed, thus evoking the importance of a noble lineage in direct relation to royal power.