Image: Capital: Announcement to the Shepherds

The Archangel Gabriel announces Christ's birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:8). The scene is labeled with the inscription DIXIT GLORIA INEXELSIS DEO, the shepherd on the left is labeled PASTORES and the one on the right PASTOR BONUS. The posture of the angel echoes that of Michael in the Weighing of Souls scene on the other side of the capital. Detail of Romanesque capital in the choir, mid-12th century. St-Pierre, Chauvigny, Poitou-Charentes, France.