The Exaltation of the Cross

The final wall painting in the Legend of the Cross series depicts the Pride of Heracles followed by a scene of him returning the true Cross to Jerusalem shown on the right. There is clearly extensive damage to these two scenes but Heracles can be seen mounted on a horse to the left whilst the cross is carried before him. An angel is visible above Heracles in order to remind him of the impiety of his excessive pride, a sin which in medieval thought was believed to be the most serious of the seven deadly sins.

The result of the visitation of the angel is shown in the painting to the right: Heracles, having set aside his crown and all his signs of his high place in the secular order takes the Cross into his own hands as he approaches with great humility the gates of Jerusalem, the city which will once more provide an appropriate location for this holiest of relics. The Queen of Sheba is seen again in this painting at the bottom right corner venerating the place where the crucifixion took place.