It is only to be expected, therefore, that the cathedral's exquisite carving should also blend in equally well with its beautiful architecture. While the carving on the origi­nal Cathedral of the Assumption was extremely sparse, as we have noted, the walls of the Cathedral of St. Dmi­tri abound with an amazing variety and number of sculp­tures. They resemble a rich, heavy tapestry, interwoven with hundreds of projecting pictures, and tasseled at the lower edges with the sumptuous patterned "fringe" of the band of blind arcading. The architects did not lose their sense of proportion, however, in adorning the building with this rich carved apparel: the clear lines of the pilasters cut boldly and cleanly through the tapes­try of sculpture, dominating its exuberance and subordi­nating it to the architecture of the building as a whole.

Turning to a study of the sculptures we must bear in mind that they have suffered considerably over the cen­turies. Many of the original sculptures have subse­quently been replaced by new ones or rearranged in a different order. In this connection a word should be said about the old sections of the building which were torn down by Nicholas I's "restorers" and which we know only from old drawings. The cathedral was originally surrounded on three sides by covered galleries which reached up to the band of blind arcading. The western third of its side walls was entirely covered by adjoining structures which led to the choir-gallery. Sym­metrical staircase towers stood on either side of the west wall, like fortified towers guarding the main entrance. This impression was reinforced by the gilded tent-shaped roofs which originally crowned them. These towers were very similar to the large ones on the corners of the galleries in the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kiev, which the prince and his architects were still undoubtedly striv­ing to rival. The eastern section of these adjoining struc­tures served as a passage to the arched apertures leading to the choir-gallery. The structures were also decorated with stone carving. To the north and south of the cathe­dral there was a new network of covered passages link­ing it up with the other palace buildings among which the royal cathedral had pride of place. The roof which was later added to the galleries caused a considerable amount of damage to the band of blind arcading, in par­ticular the carved figures of saints between its columns. The upper windows were partially blocked up and par­tially widened. Only recently have experts succeeded in reconstructing a picture of the original building and established the fact that the cathedral was once part of a large architectural ensemble.

The cathedral was built in a manner which may strike us as somewhat strange today. First of all the main body of the cathedral was erected, as we see it today, with all its outer walls carefully decorated in spite of the fact that the band of blind arcading would obviously be covered by the galleries, and the carving on the western sections of the side walls would be concealed by the towers, which were an integral part of the original design, providing a link with the choir-gallery. The reason for this is evidently to be found in the mediaeval practice, accepted by the guilds, of decorating each sec­tion of a building even if it was to be concealed by ad­joining structures. We shall see another example of this in Bogolyubovo.

 The removal of the ancient galleries and towers by Nicholas I's "restorers" considerably weakened the main body of the cathedral. Ominous cracks appeared in its pendentives, supporting arches, and the pillars support­ing the choir-gallery and the west wall. The building was saved only after many years of restoration work carried out by Alexander Stoletov, a native of Vladimir.

The sculptured decoration of the north, south and west walls differs from that of the east wall where it is more modest, consisting only of the band of blind arcad ing along the top of the apses partitioned by slender semi-columns. Instead of the figures of saints the band contains flat, ornamental reliefs. Let us mention the main groups of later sculptures straightaway. There are comparatively few of them. They include, for example, the Epiphany composition on the west zakomara of the south wall. Most of the figures of saints on the band of blind arcading belong to the later period. They stand out from the older ones either by their low relief (on the west wall) or by their somewhat crude simplicity (on the north wall).

The central zakomaras of the north, south and west walls each contain a beautifully carved figure of the prophet David. The position and size of this figure indi­cates that it was of major importance in the over-all dec­oration of the facade. Around and below it are separate sculptures which bear no relation to the figure of David. Rows of carved foliage alternate with rows of sculp­tured monsters, wild beasts, birds, galloping horsemen, saints and angels. It is interesting that of the 566 sculp­tures on the three walls, excluding the band of blind arcading, only 46 depict Christian subjects. The latter are lost in a host of fantastic, mythical forms. The large majority of the sculptures (470) depict plants, birds and animals. There are several sculptures showing beasts and griffins in combat, hunting scenes, and so on. Con­sequently the cathedral's sculptures cannot be inter­preted solely by reference to church liturgy and biblical texts.

Many different theories have been advanced in this connection. It has been suggested, for example, that the sculptures were intended to illustrate Psalm 148 which calls on all creatures to praise the Lord. But the sculp­tures include too many frightening predatory beasts of prey, mounted warriors and scenes of battle and blood­shed to fit in with the words of the psalm. Other scholars have advanced the theory that the sculptures represent a "gathering of all creatures" and depict the beasts as God "created" them. Yet we find swarms of hideous monsters among them which are hardly flattering to the divine intention. Another theory is that this stone riddle ex­presses views about the creation of the world of the type found in apocryphal literature, such as the Book oi the Dove, but it is most unlikely that this would have been allowed on the walls of the royal cathedral. The build­ing stood behind the citadel walls and its intricate orna­mentation was not intended for the public eye.

This world of wild beasts and strange monsters, such as winged lions and two-headed creatures, which no doubt fascinated the townspeople, was particularly familiar and comprehensible to the feudal nobility. In early Russian literature the heroic princes were often com­pared to lions, panthers, crocodiles and eagles, and there were many precious objects to be found in the churches and rich households decorated with fantastic animals, the work of both Russian and foreign crafts­men, as well as rich apparel made of cloth from Byzan­tine and the east and embroidered with strange beasts. The cathedral must have looked like a powerful ruler clad in sumptuous apparel decorated with mythical creatures.

The stately rhythm of the cathedral's architecture dif­fers from the soaring quality of the original Cathedral of the Assumption. In the Cathedral of St. Dmitri we see a slow, majestic "ascent", like the great Vsevolod himself in his heavy, sumptuous robes mounting the steps to his throne. This analogy was reinforced by the cathedral's stone ornament. The main purpose of the ornamentation was to emphasise the power and majesty of the ruler. First and foremost, it reflects the tastes of the feudal nobility, cleverly fused with elements of church symbol­ism. It is highly probable that the religious chronicler neglected to record the construction of Vsevolod Ill's royal cathedral precisely because the secular element appeared so strongly in its ornamentation and the exu­berant sculpture distinguished the building so sharply from the severe episcopal Cathedral of the Assumption.

Only in the carvings of the band of blind arcading did the religious theme appear in full force. Between its small columns there was a whole gallery of sculp­tured saints, whose picturesque prototype is to be found in the band of frescoes on the outer walls of the original Cathedral of the Assumption, which we have already examined. Unfortunately most of the earlier figures have been replaced by later ones. The only original ones that have survived completely intact are to be found on the western section of the north front (111. 28). They stand out by virtue of their superior design and execution. Their heads are in the typical parabola shape, and the carving of the robes and other details is severe and uni­form. Among these figures are the royal princes Boris and Gleb who were killed by their brother Svyatopolk and later canonised as saints. It is quite possible that the figures on the band of blind arcading formed a Deesis tier in which Russian saints and the patron saints of the Vladimir dynasty occupied a prominent position.

There are two large sculptural compositions particu­larly worthy of note. The first is to be found on the eastern zakomara of the south wall and shows Alexander the Great ascending into heaven (111. 29). Alexander is sitting in a wicker chariot to which winged griffins are harnessed. In his raised hands he is holding lion cubs, a bait for the griffins, who are straining after them and thus carrying the emperor up to heaven. Above Alexan­der's head there are two beautifully carved birds in flight who are watching the scene with amazement. In early times this fantastic theme was understood as a symbol glorifying a mighty ruler's power and, as such, fitted in well with the general intention of Vsevolod's cathedral.

In the east zakomara of the north wall, which faced the town, the sculptors have immortalised Vsevolod III himself, seated on his throne with his new-born son Dmitri on his knee and surrounded by his many other sons who are bowing to their lord and father.

Contrasting styles of carving, which we first saw in the Cathedral of the Assumption of 1158-1160, are much more evident in the sculptured decoration of the Cathedral of St. Dmitri. The high relief carving is remarkable for its plasticity and is clearly the work of craftsmen who were past masters at the art of carving in stone and were aware of the material's plastic poten­tial. The other type of carving, which is particularly abundant in the west section of the south wall, is in extremely low relief with a wealth of ornamental detail. This is obviously the work of craftsmen who were more used to working in wood than stone. One gets the feel­ing that they were haunted by the fear of breaking through the wood with their chisel and this is why their carving is almost graphic in quality. This latter style is felt in all the cathedral's carving, which is highly orna­mental in character. The Russian craftsmen drew their subject matter from precious objects belonging to the church and the nobility. They were able to interpret and mould these motifs in their own way, because the world of strange beasts and monsters was also an integral part of Russian myths and folk tales. This explains why the cathedral's mass of carved ornament was infused with strong poetic feeling and genuine inspiration giving it a magical quality. Due to the ornamental nature of the carving, the wild beasts and monsters cease to be fright­ening and appear rather as engaging, intricate motifs in a stone tapestry. The arrangement of the carving in lines is strongly reminiscent of folk art; we find the same principle of linear arrangement of figures and pat­terns in embroidery, weaving and the wood carving on peasants' huts. At the same time, instead of concealing the masonry, it emphasises each line of blocks and accentuates the formidable massive quality of the royal cathedral.

The close link between the cathedral's architecture and carving, and the latter's linear arrangement and ornamental quality, are characteristic of the building's decoration and in sharp contrast with Romanesque sculp­ture where three-dimensional carving predominates, usually without any particular overall design, and where the figures of wild beasts are cruel and ferocious. Certain stylistic features of the Vladimir sculptures show that the craftsmen refashioned their models to create a beau­tiful, specifically Russian type of exterior ornamental sculpture. The cathedral's ornament was an amplifica­tion and reinforcement of the theme of Vsevolod Ill's power and the might of the Vladimir lands, already ex­pressed in the architecture of the building.