is a very remarkable series of bas-reliefs, noticed more
fully later on. The bosses of the roof are somewhat elaborately
carved; one north of the west doorway has groups of figures on it,
apparently intended to represent armourers, musicians, and
apothecaries, possibly commemorating guilds who were benefactors to
the building; the others have foliage chiefly with grotesque monsters.
On the base of the central pillar is a series of carvings taken
probably from one of the many books of fables so popular in the middle
ages. These were reproduced from the originals, which are preserved
in the cloisters.

[Illustration: DETAILS OF SCULPTURES IN THE CHAPTER HOUSE.
_From Photographs by Catherine Weed Ward._]

The quatrefoil over the doorway has an empty niche, and it is not
possible to say with certainty whether it was originally filled by a
crucifix, as Mr. Mackenzie Walcott infers from the symbols of the
Evangelists in the angles of the panel; or, with a seated figure of
our Lord in majesty; or, as a third archaeologist has suggested, a
coronation of the Virgin. Filling the voussoirs of the arch of the
doorway are fourteen small niches containing subjects from the
Psychomachia of Prudentius, the Battle of the Virtues against the
Vices. The figures are not easily identified, but Mr. Burges, whose
"Iconography of the Chapter House" is the most important monograph on
the subject, suggests that on the right-hand side the figures in the
third niche from the top appear to represent Concord triumphing over
Discord; in the sixth, Temperance is pouring liquor down the throat of
Intemperance; on the seventh, Fortitude tramples on Terror, who cuts
her own throat. On the left hand in the first niche Faith is trampling
on Infidelity; in the second, a Virtue covers a Vice with her cloak,
while the Vice embraces her knees with one hand and stabs her with a
sword held in the other. This incident is taken from Prudentius:
"Discord by stealth wounds Concord; she is taken and killed by" Faith,
which latter incident may be represented in the next compartment. In
the fourth niche, Truth pulls out Falsehood's tongue; in the fifth,
Modesty scourges Lust; in the sixth, Generosity pours coin into the
throat of Avarice. To quote the words of the author from whom these
interpretations are derived: "These sculptures are of the very highest
class of art, and infinitely superior to any work in the chapter
house; the only defect is the size of the