Facing the choir stands the isolated Capilla Mayor, containing the High Altar. It is enclosed on three sides by a railing of wrought iron, and on the fourth by a superb Gothic retablo. Schmidt considers this work the quintessence of late Gothic sculpture. The middle parts date from the fifteenth, the outer from the sixteenth century. The ornamentation is of extraordinary delicacy and richness. It is divided into forty-five compartments, each containing subjects from the Scriptures and the lives of the saints in sculpture painted and gilded. It is crowned by a crucifix and the statues of the Virgin and St John. This fine altar-piece was begun by the Fleming Dancart in 1479, and was completed by Spanish artists in 1526. Behind the altar is the Sacristy, adorned with terra-cotta statues by Miguel Florentin, Juan Marin, and others. Here is kept a reliquary shaped like a triptych, presented to the church by Alfonso the Wise, and called the Alphonsine Tables. Behind the Capilla Mayor, at the eastern extremity of the nave, is the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). The building--which, as Ford remarks, is almost a church by itself--was begun by Gainza in 1514, and finished in 1566 by his successors, Fernan Ruiz, Diaz de Palacios, and Maeda. The chapel is of the Renaissance style, and has a lofty dome. There is a handsome frieze showing the figures of children carrying shields and lances. The chapel is divided by light pillars into seven compartments, of which the midmost is occupied by the altar of the Virgin de los Reyes. This image was the gift of St Louis of France to St Ferdinand. “It is of great archæological interest,” says Ford; “it is made like a movable lay-figure; the hair is of spun gold, and the shoes are like those used in the thirteenth century, ornamented with the lilies of France and the word “Amor.” In 1873, the fine gold crown belonging to this image [a sixteenth-century work] was stolen. This image is seated on a silver throne, thirteenth-century work, embossed with the arms of Castile and Leon.” The body of St Ferdinand, remarkably well preserved, is contained in a silver urn, placed on the original sepulchre, which is engraved with epitaphs in Latin, Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic. In the vault beneath is the ivory figure of the Virgin de las Batallas, which the king always carried with him on his campaigns. It is a fine piece of Gothic statuary. Ferdinand’s sword is also preserved in this chapel. Here are the tombs of Alfonso el Sabio, of Beatriz of Swabia, his mother, of Pedro I., Maria de Padilla, and various Infantes. An interesting trophy is the flag of the Polish Legion of the French army, taken by the Spaniards at Bailen. The twelve statues in the entrance to the Capilla Real are after the designs of Peter Kempener; there is a Mater Dolorosa by Murillo in the sacristy. Some of the later work in this chapel exhibits those fantastic and grotesque features which became common, under the name of _Estilo Monstruoso_, in Seville.