A number of the church’s capitals feature real and fantastic beings, such as lions, dragons, centaurs, griffins and mermaids. These beings, typical in Romanesque repertoires, frequently hide the Church’s aim to indoctrinate. In other words, behind most of the scenes depicted on the capitals, there lie themes and messages designed to impose certain behaviours and lifestyles.

On the capital we've selected here, you’ll see the dire fight between a dragon and a man armed with a sword and shield. The dragon, with a threatening face, represents evil while the man, although armed, represents good.  This capital, then, is a reminder of the constant battle against vice and sin which both the medieval man and woman had to keep up their whole lives. The message is easy to understand, but given the historical context in which it was created, it hides another battle: the one fought by the Church itself against all those who represented a threat, and who were, mainly, the Cathars and Muslims.