“The canons of this church, fearful of confronting the said count [Ramon Roger I of Foix], took refuge in the church. […] Finally they surrendered, and the cruel enemies of the Church entered the temple and removed, besides the bells, all the liturgical ornaments, the crosses and sacred vessels, before destroying them, leaving nothing in it but the walls.”

Pierre de Vaux-de-Cernay, Historia Albigensis.

The iconographical programme of the paintings

The decorative programme of Saint Catherine’s Chapel symbolically reflects the conflicts between the bishopric of Urgell and the great feudal lords round about, the viscounts of Castellbò and their allies, the counts of Foix. The Church, especially during the rule of Bishop Ponç de Vilamur (1230-1257), accused these nobles of protecting the Cathar heresy, thus identifying its political enemies with the enemies of the Christian faith.

The entire iconographic programme of the chapel may be interpreted as a glorification of Catholic orthodoxy and of its dialectical triumph over the heretics. The saint’s dispute with the pagan philosophers was seen in contemporary terms as a reflection of the debates and controversies between the Cathars and the Dominican friars. The scene of the martyrdom, on the other hand, may have been a reminder of the death of the preacher Brother Ponç de Planès, poisoned in the town of Castellbò in 1237-1238. Finally, on the bottom register, the presence of the Last Supper is a direct reference to the sacrament of the Eucharist, whose dogmatic value the Cathars explicitly denied.