There has been some dispute as to the original plan of the archbishop’s palace, and an architect of my acquaintance is devoting a good deal of study to the subject. With him I went upstairs to look through the windows of the notary’s office at the now sealed up old windows of one of the original lateral façades. These windows are in the Romanesque style, very like those in the transept of Winchester Cathedral, which are also eleventh-century work, only that the latter have two windows under each arch. The arches here are double, the inner arch resting on slender shafts. It is a simple and at the same time a noble style of window. We then went down into the basement to look at the long vaulted room below the capilla--probably an old Sala Capitular--and numerous bits of stone ornament, archwayed passages, all dating from the eleventh century. It was down here that Gelmirez established his mint, by the special permission of Alfonso VI. (1107)[172] in order that money might be forthcoming to meet the expense of completing the cathedral. CHAPTER XI THE ROYAL HOSPITAL Ferdinand and Isabella--Levying a tribute--Foundation of the hospital--Molina’s description--The principal entrance--Iconographic decoration--Gargoyles--A mural painting--The railing--The four patios--The north-west cloister--The chapel--A graceful font--The sculptured altars--Lace-like canopies--The statues--The Flemish Gothic style--The sacristy--Historical chasubles--The belfry--A palace for royal visitors--Decadence of the hospital--The revenues--A twentieth-century staff--Twenty-six wards--The kitchen--Milk and eggs--The Sisters--The medical school--King Alfonso XIII. shows his appreciation--Röntgen rays--The best in Spain.