The Ascension of Alexander

The broader north and south sides of the capital each show roughly the same representation: In the middle axis a man is sitting in a kind of hammock and is tied with a stout rope to two griffins with outspread wings. On the south side he has his arms stretched up to heaven, whereas on the north side his arms point downwards. The subject represented here is presumably that of the ascension of Alexander the Great or his transport by two griffins high into the sky and his return to earth. This tale enjoyed great popularity in the Middle Ages, after Leo of Naples in the mid-tenth century had translated the Alexander romance written in Alexandria in the 3rd century. In the 11th century this subject appears for example in the transept of the abbey church of Conques. Numerous variants exist, but most emphasize the intercession of a saint, as on the side of the high altar of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse.
Below the impost block which is decorated with a fish-scale pattern two horizontal angels hold up a circular medallion on each side. Each of these medallions contains either a bearded (west side) or beardless head, which is more like a very flat mask. They could be interpreted as a representation of the stars that Alexander wished to reach, or as a sequence of the ages of life with successive ageing of the faces (young, not so young, older with short and then with long beard). The angels have long hair or wear a cap; on the west and south side they are haloed. All turn their heads away: here we find once again the motif developed by Bernardus Gelduinus for the front side of the high altar in Saint-Sernin.

Toulouse ascension Saint-Sernin griffon Alexander griffin griffin