ROYAL CHAPEL AGIA AIKATERINI

Dedicated to Saint Catherine, this former Catholic chapel (Βασιλικό Παρεκκλήσι της Αγίας Αικατερίνης/Vasiliko Parekklisi tis Agías Aikaterinis) preserves the only medieval French inscriptions in Cyprus. Rather plain in appearance - it was clumsily renovated in the ^20th century - it was built in 1421-1422 at the request of the Frankish king of Cyprus Janus de Lusignan (1375-1432). Inside, most of the frescoes have been lost. Those that remain are nonetheless exemplary. They were painted by an anonymous Cypriot painter. On the east wall, King Janus is depicted with his second wife Charlotte de Bourbon, both kneeling before the Crucifixion Cross. The kneeling figure in the Entombment may be Hugues de Lusignan (1380-1442), Cardinal of Cyprus. The northwest ceiling features the Resurrection of Lazarus and the Last Supper. While the Byzantine style predominates, there is also a Franciscan influence, and above all, French inscriptions. For example, above the representation of the Last Supper, we can read: "La Sene [... ] eusdi saint", i.e. "The Last Supper, Maundy Thursday". The sentences are not only written in Old French, but also... in phonetics. The painter seems to have learned the language orally. The coat of arms of the Lusignan family and the kings of the Holy Land are also present.