Cathedral of St. Peter, Beauvais, Oise, Picardy, France

      The  Cathedral of St. Peter or Saint-Pierre is the Gothic cathedral that reached for the heavens but failed. It was tallest Gothic cathedral attempted at 150 feet or 48 meters, the height of the vaulting in the choir.  It is the cathedral that was never completed since it started to fall down almost as soon as some of it was built.  Even today the Gothic cathedral is a choir and a transept walled off from a small nave finished about 1000.  The choir includes the apse and projecting chapels of the chevet that form a hemicycle.  It is five aisles wide and is transected by the transept that once was topped with a lantern tower.  But that collapsed also.

      The Cathedral was commissioned in 1225, about the same time that the construction on nearby Amiens cathedral was beginning.  Fire had damaged the Romanesque church on the site.  Bishop Milon (or Miles or Milo) de Nanteuil commissioned the new cathedral of Saint-Pierre, and he saw and paid for the first part of the construction with 10% of his income.  The first phase of construction that began in the middle of the church at the crossing of the choir and transept was halted in 1232.  Bishop Milo died about 1234.  The reason for the stoppage was both fiscal (no money) and political.

     In 1232 the bourgeois of Beauvais rioted over the appointment of a new mayor. In the uprising the      more powerful members of the bourgeois tended to oppose the power of the count-bishop whose        taxes were considered onerous while the ordinary folk remained loyal. The event provided the            pretext for an intervention by the King, and in the subsequent struggle the count-bishop fled the          city and his income was confiscated. Bishop Milon's successor, Godfrey or Geoffroy de Clermont      (1234–1236), remained unable to regain possession of his temporalities. It was only with the              capitulation of Bishop Robert de Cressonsac (1236–1248) that episcopal revenues were restored.        In 1248 Bishop Robert left with Louis IX to participate in the Crusade. He died on the island of          Cyprus. 

Floor plan of the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre or St. Peter in Beauvais. Only the outline in bold was ever built. <Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=348022>

Looking down the choir to the east end of the Cathedral and the axial Chapel of the Virgin.  Note that there appear to four stories of windows, the ambulatory and then a row of windows above the ambulatory, a triforium level and then an exceedingly tall clerestory level.
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     The second phase of construction began in the 1240s.  This is shown by a change in the carving that is more delicate and the supporting piers that are much thinner. The main arcade of the choir, the ambulatory and the seven radiating chapels were built while Robert de Cressonsac (reigned from 1236-1248) was Bishop of Beauvais until his death while on crusade.

    Following the death of Bishop Robert, Guillaume or William of Grez or Gres was consecrated Bishop of Beauvais.  This Count Bishop reigned from 1249-1267.  Under his leadership the third phase of construction began. The height of the upper choir or clerestory was raised. The phases of the construction generally moved so that the north flank of the cathedral was finished before the southern flank, and the western end of the choir was finished before the eastern end.  The new height of the vaulting meant that the height of the choir was 144 "royal" feet. (1 royal foot =32.5 cm. 1 foot=30.5 cm)  In Revelation 21.17, the height of the wall of New Jerusalem was 144 cubits. The monks and clergy began regular use of the choir in 1272.  The choir of the Gothic cathedral was in use only 12 years.

Eastern end of the Cathedral of St. Peter, Beauvais.  Three items of particular interest are the height of the flying buttresses, the height of the clerestory windows and the iron (later steel) tie rods placed between the flying buttresses to give the building additional stability.

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     Then on "Friday November 29 [1284] at eight o'clock in the evening the great vaults of the choir fell, several exterior pillars were broken, the great windows were smashed...and the divine service ceased for forty years." (<http://www.learn.columbia.edu/ma/htm/ms/ma_ms_bc_discuss_collapse.htm>)
The reason(s) for the collapse are still not known.  What is known is that everything from the sill of the triforium to the top vaulting of the choir as well as flying buttresses had to be rebuilt. Yet somehow the main exterior roof of the choir remained substantially intact. A couple of reasons can be observed.  The hemicycle of 7 chapels and ambulatory is misaligned with the center and left isles of the choir and apse on the north side of the choir. This means that the easternmost straight bay on the northern side of the choir is significantly wider than its south side counterpart.  Given the prevailing winds from the English Channel to the north and west of Beauvais, wind can and does cause significant oscillation in the structure, worsened by the misalignment.  At some point during the Middle Ages, iron tie rods were added between the buttresses.  These were removed in the 1960s for aesthetic reasons.  Once removed, the amount of oscillation in the wind became worrisome and steel rods were reinstalled. These steel rods are stiffer than the old iron rods,and some have suggested that this additional stiffness may be adding to the  current structural problems of the cathedral.

An exaggerated line drawing of the misalignment of the hemicycle (ambulatory and chapels) with the main axis of the straight bays of the choir.  From the work of Stephan Murray.

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     Reconstruction of the choir began soon after the collapse of 1284 and included dividing the three bay straight part of the choir into six bays.  The vaulting in the roof was changed and the side walls were thickened. The rebuilding took a long time, because the builders did not know what to do to prevent a repeat disaster. (Some authors have suggested a loss of will after the hubris of trying to built so high was exposed.) Also there was less money available because of political unrest even before the beginning of the Hundred Years War in 1337.  Repairs were not finished until the 1340s, just in time for the arrival of Black Death in 1348 and dislocations from the Hundred Years War.

     Then there is a hiatus in construction for another 150 years before the transept was built. The transept was constructed from north to south beginning in the 1490s by master mason, Martin Chambiges. Much of the work on the transepts were complete by the time of M. Chambiges' death in 1532, though the completion date is usually given as 1550 or so.  The south transept became the main entrance to the church and employed Flamboyant Gothic style.  There is a large rose window and two rows of lancet windows.  It almost seems as though the wall dissolved into glass.

South transept door acts as main entrance to the incomplete Cathedral. The is a large rose windows and two rows of lancet window.

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Correction: North transept doors are pictured. 

     Then beginning in 1550, a central lantern tower of 105 meters was added on top of the center crossing of the nave and choir without any further work to build a nave.

What the Cathedral of Beauvais probably looked like when the central lantern tower was completed in 1569.

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     The lantern tower lasted only four years before it also collapsed on Ascension Day of 1573 just after the clergy and congregation had left the cathedral in an Ascension Day procession. The collapse not only damaged the roof and upper choir, it also did substantial damage to the interior of the church including breaking stained glass windows.  This collapse happened during the Wars of Religion (1562-1598) After repairs were made to the exterior and interior of the cathedral, construction halted except to erect a wall where the nave would have been built.  This was done in 1605, and the cathedral remains unfinished. 

     The Cathedral suffered damage in World War II to both its structure and stained glass windows. In the 1990s, it became clear that the cathedral was continuing to suffer from structural problems. Huge braces and trusses were installed in the church in 1993 to prevent collapse.  See the picture below for examples.  Now laser measurements and computer modelling is being used to assess the structural problems of Beauvais in three dimensions.  It is hoped that these models that show areas of stress and malaligments might help with deciding what needs to be done to prevent further structural damage to the cathedral.

To the right of the picture is the east end of the choir.  On the left one can see some of the trusses and braces installed in 1993 to stabilize the north and east wall of the north transept.

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Jesse Tree lancet window at the east end of the Chapel of the Virgin at the Cathedral at Beauvais

     The chevet of the Beauvais Cathedral has seven chapels, and the axial chapel is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  At its east end is a two lancet window with an oculus window at the top.

Jesse Tree window on the left of the two lancet window at the east end of the Chapel of the Virgin. The oculus at the top of the window contains the Crucifixion of Jesus.  The window to the right is the Childhood of Jesus containing both Biblical and apocryphal stories (such as the fall of the idols from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas or the first Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ)

Photo credit for all stained glass: Painton Cowen

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The left hand lancet has a Jesse Tree and the right hand lancet contains the Childhood of Jesus window.  Above and between these lancets is an oculus showing the Crucifixion with the sponge bearer and the lancet bearer.  The sun and moon are above the crucifixion and St. Mary and St. John flank the Crucifixion. At the bottom of the Crucifixion, a man identified traditionally as Adam is arising from the grave holding a chalice to capture the blood and water coming from the pierced side of Jesus.  The wood of the cross is not gold or brown but green. (Much more about green wooden crosses to come.)   This 13th century window may be the first inclusion of a Crucifixion scene with a Jesse Tree stained glass window. The date of the Jesse Tree window is uncertain by may date to the 1230s or 1240s.

Detail of Crucixion window.  Jesus is hanging from a green wood cross with the sponge and lance bearers.  Virgin Mary is to the left and St. John is on the right.  The sun and moon are at the top.  Adam, arising from the grave, holds a chalice to catch to blood of Jesus from his pierced side.

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Two lancet window at east end of Chapel of the Virgin.  Jesse Tree on the left and Childhood of Jesus on the right and the Crucifixion at the top.

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 Detail of Jesus Christ seated in majesty holding a book in his left hand and holding his right had in blessing.  He is accompanied by two prophets, and his is surrounded by seven doves, the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

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Detail of the Virgin Mary seated holding a prayer book in both hands and accompanied by two unidentified prophets.

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     Both Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary are seated frontally.  Both are holding books.  Jesus is holding what is usually identified as a book of Gospels and St. Mary is holding a prayer book with both hands.  The four prophets are repeated figures.  Both prophets are the left are the same as are the two on the right though the color of the glass is their robes differ.  All the prophets in this window have red nimbi.  Bits of medieval architecture appear above the heads of the prophets forming a canopy for the prophets that flank St. Mary.  Note that all four prophets are set within blue glass and there is blue glass within the mandorle of Jesus Christ and Virgin  Mary.  But the background glass of the center section of both panels is red. The prophets do have some writing on the banderoles that they hold.  But I cannot read it sufficiently to make identifications of the prophets. The writing could well be nonsense.

       Above the figure of Jesse and below the panel with Virgin Mary are six kings.  All are seated frontally with both hands holding onto the vine of the Jesse Tree.  There is no way to identify any of the six kings. The prophet designs are repeated though the glass is colored differently. There are only four different designs for the 18 prophets shown in the window.  This probably saved some cost for the drawing of the cartoons to which the stained glass was fitted. The prophets are set in blue background and the kings have blue glass within the mandorle. Unlike Amiens where some of the prophets wear Jewish hats, the prophets at Beauvais all have red nimbi. The prophets stand on small mounds of earth and have medieval architectural canopies above their heads. The white Jesse Tree vine sprouts green, blue and golden yellow leaves.

 First king below the Blessed Virgin Mary and 6th king above Jesse with two prophets

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Second king below the Blessed Virgin Mary and the 5th king above Jesse with two prophets

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The third king below the Blessed Virgin Mary and 4th king above Jesse and two prophets

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Fourth king below the Blessed Virgin Mary and 3rd king above Jesse accompanied by two prophets.

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Fifth king below the Blessed Virgin Mary and 2nd king above Jesse, flanked by two prophets

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Sixth king below Virgin Mary and the 1st king above Jesse with two prophets

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Reclining Jesse, father of King David with white Jesse Tree trunk growing from his side.  He is accompanied by two prophets.

   The Jesse Tree window at the Cathedral of St. Peter has more even distribution of red and blue glass.  The window did under go restoration in the 19th century.  Even so, there is not much that is obviously 19th century when looking at the whole window.  The handling of the folds in the robes and the painting of facial features does vary among the panels suggesting that two or three men may have been painting the glass.  When comparing this window to its roughly contemporary window at Amiens, this window appears more sophisticated with it use of both red and blue glass.  At the same time it appears more primitive in  that it lacks the iconography to allow identification of King David.

Two Jesse Tree prophets owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a Third owned by the Worcester Museum of Art

     Two Jesse Tree prophets at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and one at the Worcester Museum of Art in Worcester, MA have been identified by Michael Cothren as belonging to the same school of stained glass window makers as the Jesse Tree window of the Chapel of the Virgin at the Beauvais Cathedral.  All three are dated to approximately to time period before or near to 1245.  All three prophets are stylistically similar, standing on small hillocks and holding long scrolls.  Cothren speculates that the prophets probably belong to parish churches nearby that may have had Jesse Tree windows such as Agnieres (Somme) or Belle-Eglise (Oise) or Villers-Saint-Paul (Oise). The letters that can be read on the scrolls make up non-sense words and the writer of the article notes that the banderoles of the prophets in the Beauvais Cathedral are not readable except as non-sense words. This may reflect illiteracy, but more likely the fact that the writing was too far away from any viewer for the writing to be read. (Jane Hayward. English and French Medieval Stained Glass in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Corpus Vitrearum United States of America, Part I.(2003) New York: Harvey Miller Publishers, pp.134-40.)

   Where I am going from here?

     This is the last of the single lance 12th and 13th century Jesse Tree windows from France that I am planning to write about at this time.  I reserve the option of changing my mind and adding more later.  For now though, I need to begin a wide detour before I cross the English Channel.  There are two areas that need discussion.  The first  item is what knowledge do we have about stained glass production in the Middle Ages,  It is surprising how much we know thanks to a monk who wrote under the name of Theophilus.  The second is a far more complicated trip into the origins of the elements that make up the Jesse Tree. Unlike England, there are fewer Jesse Trees in French manuscripts that have survived to the 21st century.  So it if much harder to trace the development of the style of the Jesse Tree in French manuscripts that have been published and are available for public access.  Where did the idea of divided panes with individual figures come from?  Where did the intertwining vines originate?  Why do some Jesse Trees use vines such as grape vines and other more tree like vines with leaves?  Why did the figures in French single lancet Jesse Tree windows continue to be stacked when the builders were making lancet windows with two or three or five lancets in one window?  What do Jesse Tree windows have to do with liturgical dramas or plays held in the church before eventually being removed from the Church to be played on secular stages for church festivals?

References

Michael W. Cothren,  Picturing the Celestial City: the medieval stained glass of Beauvais cathedral, Princeton, 2006

Michael W. Cothren.  "Holding hands in the Virgin Chapel at Beauvais Cathedral," The four Modes of Seeing: Approaches to medieval imagery in Honor of Madeline Harrison Caviness, Ed. Evelyn Staudinger lane, Elizabeth Carson Pastan, and Ellen M. Shortell, Farnham, 2009, pp 30-43

Stephen Murray. Beauvais Cathedral: architecture of transcendence. Princeton University Press, 1989.

Stephen Murray.  The Choir of the Church of St.-Pierre, Cathedral of Beauvais: A Study of Gothic Architectural Planning and Constructional Chronology in its Historical Context. The Art Bulletin (1980) 62(4) 533–551.

http://cyark.org/projects/cathedral-of-beauvais/overview

Cathedral of Our Lady, Amiens, Picardy, France

Cathedral of Our Lady, Amiens, Picardy, France.  West front.

Photo credit for exteriors and nave: Andrew Tallon

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Lower west front with tympani, jamb sculptures, archivolt sculptures

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Chevet (east) end of the cathedral with projecting chapels especially the Chapel of the Virgin.  Note the height of the  windows in the chapels.

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Nave looking east.  The triforium of the nave is blind, that is there are no windows.  But the same level in the choir has windows that admit much light to the building.  Most of the stained glass has been lost. 

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     So much has been written about the Cathedral of Our Lady at Amiens, Picardy, France, that there is nothing new that I can add. I will instead present a summary of what some art historians consider the finest and, during the Middle Ages, the largest Gothic church in France and Europe.

     Several churches existed on the site of the Amiens cathedral including a Romanesque church built between 1137 and 1152. It was at this cathedral that King Philip II Augustus married his second wife, Ingeborg of Sweden. This is the queen for whom the spectacular Ingeborg Psalter was commissioned that was discussed previously under the blog for the Soissons Cathedral.

     In 1206 the purported head (or more accurately the front facial bones of the skull without mandible) of John the Baptist was brought back to Amiens from the sacking of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Wallo or Walon de Sarton, from Picardy, discovered a half-ball of transparent crystal that contained the facial section of a human skull resting on a silver plate. It was apparently one of two relics he acquired. The other was the head of Saint George. The Greek lettering around the plate said that the bones were from John the Baptist but he could not read the Greek and so went from monastery to monastery trying to get information. Walon gave the skull to the bishop at Amiens. This made the Cathedral of Our Lady a very prestigious site and soon a major pilgrimage site in France. The presence of the skull fragment brought in a substantial income to the cathedral. ( See these three books for more details: Alfred J Andrea Contemporary Sources for the Fourth Crusade: Revised Edition (2008) Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. David M. Perry. Sacred Plunder: Venice and the Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. (2015) University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. Charles Freeman Holy Bones, Holy Dust: How Relics Shaped the History of Medieval Europe (2012) New Haven: Yale University Press.)

     Thus, when the Romanesque church was severely damaged by fire in 1218, construction on a new cathedral in the new Gothic style began in 1220. The cathedral was mostly complete in a short period of time for medieval churches, about 50 years or about 1270 though some art historians give the date of 1288. The cathedral was not built from one end to the other. The crossing transept may have been built first since it seems to be central to the building’s proportions. There does seem to have continuous building once started. The lower nave was built in the 1220s and1230s. The upper nave was built in 1240s to 1260s. The upper part of the chevet with its double ambulatory and chapels was being built in 1260s. The date for the western front is far from certain but many of its elements point to an earlier period.

     The names of three of the master who built the cathedral are known-Robert de Luzarches, Thomas de Cormont, and his son, Renaud de Cormont. Thus, most of the church was built and decorated in the High Gothic style extending into the Rayonnant style in the choir and chevet. The two towers were built later. The south tower was constructed about 1366, and the north tower about 1401. Chapels in the nave were added later. These additions resulted in changes in the walls and buttresses that makes dating construction without period documentation more difficult.

     Much has been written about the cohesiveness of the cathedral because of its short construction period and the airy heights of the nave, aisles and choir. The cathedral is 476 feet or 145 meters long (exterior length) and the nave is 48 feet or 14.6 meters wide, and the overall width is 213 feet.. The height from the floor to the apex of the vault is 139 feet or 42.3 meters. The proportionality of the building is, “The plan is rigorously controlled by a central geometric matrix in the form of a great double square located in the crossing and contiguous bay. The diagonal of the great square gives the length of the nave and the half diagonal gives the choir.” (Stephen Murray) The plan of the church’s dimensions unfold from a center point in length, width, and height. (For an interesting discussion of the problems of going backward to try to figure out the intended proportions and measurements many centuries after a building was completed and often revised or repaired or rebuilt, see: Stephen Murray. Plotting Gothic: A Paradox. Architectural Histories: The open journal of the European Architectural History Network. 20 June 2014, http://journal.eahn.org/articles/10.5334/ah.bs/)

     Volumes have also been written about the elaborate sculptural schemes of the Cathedral that have been remarkably well preserved over the 8 centuries. Since that is not the point of this blog, I will skip over this.

     Once complete the Cathedral suffered its share of problems. Firstly, it was noted that the flying buttresses in the choir were placed too high to really support the stress on the walls. Cracks were appearing. Because of this a second set of buttresses were built lower down the wall of the choir. Then, in 1497, structural weaknesses was noted in the crossing piers as cracks appeared. This problem was remedied by the use of “Spanish iron” to anchor the piers at the height of the triforium. Wrought iron bar chains were installed while red hot so that they would cinch in the supporting structures as they cooled. The bar chairs are still in place and covered with centuries of corrosion. (S. Grassini, E. Angelini, M. Parvis, M. Bouchar, P. Dillman, D. Neff. An in situ corrosion study of Middle Ages wrought iron bar chains in the Amiens Cathedral. Applied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing (December 2013)113(4): 971-979)

    The Cathedral suffered some damage from the Huguenot iconoclasm of 1561. There was hurricane damage in 1627 and 1705. A near-by powder mill exploded in 1675 destroying much of the original stained glass. The cathedral apparently did not suffer much damage from the French Revolution, though its labyrinth built in the floor of the central crossing was destroyed. The architect and antiquarian Eugene Viollet-le- Duc worked on the restoration of the catherdral beginning in 1849. It was he who rebuilt the labyrinth and the elaborate patterning of the floor. The windows were removed before the onset of World War I and the building heavily sandbagged. Even so the cathedral was hit at least three times from bombs. The protection did save the vast numbers of sculptures, especially the elaborate west façade. The cathedral building was again heavily sandbagged in World War II, and so there was minimal damage to the walls and sculpture.

    As I already mentioned most of the period stained glass from Amiens has been lost.  The cathedral does have a Jesse Tree window but most of it was reconstructed in the 19th and 20th centuries.  After the colorful windows of Tours and Le Mans, one is struck by the blueness of the Amiens Jesse Tree window.  The Jesse Tree window was made about 1260 when the chevet at the east end of Amiens Cathedral was glazed.  There is red used as accents and in the glass around the prophets.  Still the overall impression is blue.  ( I will discuss making of glass in  the medieval period, at some point.  Because red glass tended to be so dark and opaque, it was usually flashed onto clear glass so that the red could be seen as light was transmitted through the glass.)

 The Jesse Tree window at Amiens is window #14 on the south side of the choir.  In this picture, it is window on the left.  The window is predominately blue.

Photo credits for stained glass: Painton Cowen

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The Jesse window at Amiens is a tall single lancet window but it does not reach the height of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

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There are 17 panels in the Jesse Tree window at Amiens.  Only 9 are substantially original containing 13th century glass.  Even the original panels have some old and some replacement glass as in the panel of the crowned and seated Virgin Mary.  The prophets that once flanked here are gone and replaced with some abstract flower designs in colored glass. This is shown in the two pictures below. An interesting note is that the colors that would come to be identifiable as those for the Virgin Mary, a blue cloak and red dress, are not yet standard in 13th century French stained glass windows. Today we may think of St. Mary as wearing pale blue and white but that color palette is modern.

 Red nimbed and crowned Virgin Mary seated in the blue glass mandorla with white Jesse vine with red accent.  She holds her right hand in blessing.

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The whole panel of the Virgin Mary.  The prophets that used to flank her are replaced with abstract flower like designs of colored glass.

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The next panel that is substantially original is the 6th panel below the Virgin Mary or 8th king above Jesse.  This panel has no identifying labels or symbols for the king or the prophets.

This is a generic king of Judah.  

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This generic king of Judah is crowned but not otherwise identified.  He is flanked by two unidentified prophets.

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The panel immediately below is also substantially original.  It is the 7th king below the Virgin Mary and the 7th king above Jesse.  Again this is a generic King of Judah accompanied by two prophets that are not named.

Another generic king with his right hand held up in blessing.

Most of this rich red glass was flashed, that is a thin layer of red glass was place to clear glass so the color was not too dark and could transmit light.

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The prophets on each side of the king are not identified.

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The next king down, that is the 8th king below the Virgin Mary and the 6th king above Jesse is also a generic king of Judah flanked by two prophets.  The king in this panel is very similar to the king above, wearing a red cloak and a green gown.  The kings hold his right hand up pointing to himself. The flanking prophets are not identified.

 Generic King of Judah, 8th below Virgin Mary and 6th above Jesse.  He appears to be pointing to himself.

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Whole panel with flanking prophets..

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Generic king of Judah holding a scepter.  This is the 9th king down from Virgin Mary and the 5th king above Jesse. His is pointing to himself.  He is seated and crowned.

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The panel of the generic King of Judah holding a scepter and accompanied by two prophets.

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The ninth king below Virgin Mary and the 5th king above Jesse hold a scepter but is otherwise not identified.  He is flanked by two prophets that carry banderoles but nothing is written on them to identify the prophets.

The tenth king down from St. Mary or the 4th king above Jesse is similar to the 8th king down or 6th king above Jesse.

Generic King of Judah. He is pointing to himself or holding a chain that hangs around his neck.
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The whole panel of the 10th king below Virgin Mary and the 4th king above Jesse.  The drapery work of the cloak of the right prophets suggests a recent replacement of glass.

<http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Amiens/images/w14-level5.jpg>

The third king above Jesse or the 11th king down from the Virgin Mary is holding a vielle in his lap. This is unusual since it if common to identify both Kings David and Solomon by the fact that they are holding or playing musical instruments.  But this is the same order of the windows as discussed previously for the Cathedral of Saint-Maruice in Angers.  It is not now possible to know if the order of the panels was rearranged at some point or if the iconography used to identify the Kings of Judah had not been established, except perhaps for King David with a harp or lyre.

Third king above Jesse holding a vielle in his lap.

 <http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Amiens/images/w14-4-IMG_2696.JPG>

Vielle playing king and two prophets in the third window above Jesse or the 11th king down from Virgin Mary.

 <http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Amiens/images/w14-level4.jpg>

The second king above the figure of Jesse is usually identified at King Solomon.  But in the Amiens window, King Solomon is shown as a  seated and crowned generic king holding a scepter in his left hand.  See below.

The center part of the second panel above Jesse.  This is traditionally identified as King Solomon but at Amiens, he is a red cloaked and green robed generic king with scepter similar to  the other kings in the  middle of the Jesse Tree window. (See above.)

<http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Amiens/images/w14-3-IMG_2694.JPG>

The whole panel of the second king above Jesse.

<http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Amiens/images/w14-level3.jpg>

In this window the reclining figure of Jesse is a modern replacement and is not included in the photographs taken by Painton Cowen and so will not be included in this blog. 

  In the panel above Jesse, King David is playing a peculiar instrument to be shown in a French Jesse Tree window.  The instrument shown is a bowed lyra that is a Byzantine instrument.  Apparently in medieval France, as well as much of northern and western Europe and Scandinavia, there were a number of stringed instruments played with a bow of varying shapes and sizes with varying numbers of strings.  Some used finger boards. Some did not.  So a stringed instrument in the lute and violin family would be a common site at a medieval court and where music was played.  Certainly crusaders could have seen such instruments, especially during the Fourth Crusade when the European troops captured and sacked Constantinople establishing the Latin Empire of Constantinople from 1204 to 1261.  Perhaps some of these exotic instruments were brought back to France, even to Picardy.  The Bishop of Soissons, Nivelon de Chérisy, returned to France in 1206 with a large collection of relics that were distributed to churches. Today, King David's instrument is  rare to see but perhaps not so to the glass makers of the Amiens stained glass windows.

 

King David playing an instrument.  A musical instrument played by King David was a reminded that to him is ascribed the composition of the Book of Psalms or 73 psalms. 

<http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Amiens/images/w14-2-IMG_2693.JPG>

King David playing a lyra with two flanking and unidentified prophets.

 <http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Amiens/images/w14-level2.jpg>

      In summary, the Jesse Tree window  in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Amiens is a mixture of 13th century and more modern replacement glass.  It is a predominately blue window with seated forward facing kings with flanking unidentified prophets.  By the date of this window, 1260, showing King David above Jesse with a musical instrument, in this case a lyra, makes King David readily identifiable.  The same cannot be said for the king above David, usually King Solomon. The Blessed Virgin is seated and crowned.  In this window she has a hand held in blessing.  In other window already discussed she sometimes hold a prayer book and at other times a palm frond.  So the images used for the identification of Mary are still variable.  She is always seated below Jesus Christ and is not shone with an infant Jesus.

Cathedrale de Saint-Julien, Le Mans, Pays de la Loire region, (Maine) France

   

Gothic east end of Cathedral of St. Julian, Le Mans, Pay de la Loire (Maine), France.  The long axial chapel is the Chapel of the Virgin.

<http://mappinggothic.org/archmap/media/buildings/001000/1140/images/300/1140_00002_w.jpg>

  

The nave of the Cathedral of St. Julian is Romanesque with its rounded arches and thick pillars.  The size of the east end is not immediately obvious since the ambulatories and chapels are not visible from the central Romanesque nave.

<http://mappinggothic.org/archmap/media/buildings/001000/1140/images/300/1140_00009_w.jpg>

The Gothic east end of the Cathedral is an elaborate chevet with double ambulatories and 13 projecting chapels.  Note that there are upper and lower clerestory windows.  

<http://mappinggothic.org/archmap/media/buildings/001000/1140/images/700/1140_00020_w.jpg>

Looking into the axial chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  Jesse Tree, window # 9, is on the left. It is one of two Jesse Tree windows at the Cathedral of Le Mans.

http://mappinggothic.org/archmap/media/buildings/001000/1140/images/300/1140_00077_w.jpg

     The city of Le Mans was a Roman city, Civitas Cenomanorum.  It became Christian in the 4th century, and Julien was the first bishop of Le Mans.  An 11th century Romanesque church had been built on the site.  

      It was in this Romanesque cathedral that Geoffrey V (Plantagenet), Count of Anjou married Matilda, the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England in 1128. She was 11 years Geoffrey's senior and already the widow of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor.  Though she was claimant to the throne of England after the death of her father Henry I (and youngest son of William the Conqueror), her cousin Stephen of Blois became king of England.  She invaded and a protracted civil war called The Anarchy ensued from 1139 until 1148, when she withdrew to Normandy. The eldest son of Matilda or Maud and Geoffrey, Henry, was baptized at the Le Mans cathedral in 1133.  He became King Henry II of England in 1154.  After Geoffrey of Anjou died in 1151, he was buried at the Cathedral of St. Julian.

     The cathedral at Le Mans was damaged by fires in 1134 and 1137.  The repairs were completed about 1158.  But as the 13th century began, the Cathedral seemed to be too small and too dark.  A new bishop was consecrated in 1216, Maurice.  So in 1217, permission was sought from King Philip II Augustus to demolish part of the city wall of Le Mans so the the east end of the Cathedral could be much enlarged during the bishopic of Maurice.  Work on the chevet began in 1217 and continued to 1254 when the relics of St. Julian were transferred and the new choir dedicated by Bishop of Le Mans, Geoffroy de Loudon, on April 24, 1254. The Gothic rebuilt choir was expanded outward with a double ambulatory. Then 13 projecting chapels were built on the east end of the cathedral.  The height of the choir was extended upward as well requiring new bifurcated flying buttresses. The floor plan of the cathedral looks on paper rather like a lollipop with the large rounded east half of the church attached to a narrow nave stick.   

        The axial chapel is the longest and is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The chapel is usually called the Chapel of the Virgin, but if the church were English, it would be called the Lady's Chapel.  In this chapel is the older of the two Jesse Tree windows, window #9. Made about 1235, this window has been severely damaged by corrosion.  Even with the limitations imposed by the damaged glass, the design and execution of the Jesse window is more sophisticated than the second Jesse Tree window, #110.

Window # 9 on the north wall of the Chapel of the Virgin.
Photo credits for window # 9: Painton Cowen

<http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/LeMans/images/w9-whole-110165.jpg>

Derail of the top of Window #9.  Jesus Christ is seated with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holding a book.  There are seven doves above his head. On either side are two figures with scrolls.  There is 19th century restoration.

<http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/LeMans/images/w9-top-110168.JPG>

Detail of the the Virgin Mary.  She is holding on to the white Jesse Tree vine and holding a palm branch in her left.  She is accompanied by Isaias or Isaiah with obvious restoration.

<http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/LeMans/images/w9-mid-110167.JPG>

Detail of sleeping Jesse. At the bottom are the opening words of Isaiah 11.1 in Latin: egredietur virga de radice Iesse et (See the first blog on Radice Jesse.)

<http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/LeMans/images/w9-bot-110166.JPG>

     The Jesse figure is asleep in an elegant golden bed. Jesse is wearing a red Jewish cap. This may be the first Jesse Tree window that has the figure of Jesse spread into two sections of the panel. On the left is a kneeling figure who is probably the donor since there is no nimbus nor miter to indicate a saint or archbishop.

     The second Jesse Tree window in the Le Mans cathedral is found on the south side of the choir in the lower clerestory windows that have five lancet panels in each window. The Jesse Tree is the center panel of window #110. The panel has the basic five figures of the stacked pattern of Jesse Tree, from the top-Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, King Solomon, King David and Jesse.

Picture of the full five panels of clerestory window #110.  The Jesse Tree is the center panel

Photo credits for window# 110: Stuart Whatling

 Jesus Christ seated with seven blue and white doves.  On either side of him are two angels swinging thuribles very vigorously. (At that height there should be some charcoal or incense falling out.)  This may be the first window where Christ is accompanied by censing  angels.

<http://www.medievalart.org.uk/LeMans/110_pages/jpeg_800/Le_Mans_Bay_110_Panel_C5.jpg>

     The next panel down is Virgin Mary crowned and carrying a palm branch in his left hand.  At some point in time when I write about the representation of St. Mary, I will comment more on her iconography.  Sometimes she hold a prayer book, at other times a palm branch, sometimes a lily and sometimes a scepter in her role as Queen of heaven.  Meredith Lillich in her book, Armor of Light, comments that presenting St. Mary holding a palm occurs several times among the stained glass windows at Le Mans Cathedral.  The source for this is a legend recounted by Gregory of Tours in De Gloris Martyrum about the death of Virgin Mary.  The palm is given to her by the angel announcing her death.  Mary subsequently passes the palm to John. Lillich noted that in western art, Mary is sometimes shown with a palm at her Assumption, though sometimes it is a scepter.  In the Le Mans Jesse window in the nave, St. Mary is holding to the white Jesse Tree vine with her right hand.  She is accompanied by an unidentified saint with a green nimbus and an Old Testament prophet with the green pointed hat. Note that the cartoon for the figures of the prophet (pointed hat) and saint (nimbus) are reversed and reused alternately with the second king (King Solomon), the first king (King David), and yet again with Jesse.  The reuse of the cartoons undoubtedly reduced the cost of making the window.

     A pointed hat or Jewish cap, pilleus cornutus, was used in the Middle Ages to identify Jews. It was not required until 1215. The Fourth Council of the Lateran was convoked by Pope Innocent III in 1213 and convened in Rome in 1215. Among the canons passed was Canon 68 that decreed "that such persons [Jews and Saracens] of either sex, in every Christian province and at all times, are to be distinguished in public from other people by the character of their dress..." ( Fourth Lateran Council (1215) <https://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/LATERAN4.HTM#67). In stained glass windows the Jewish cap is often made with yellow glass to make it easier to identify. An example is the figure on the right in the first king above Jesse panel.

 Detail of the panel with crowned Virgin Mary  

<http://www.medievalart.org.uk/LeMans/110_pages/jpeg_800/Le_Mans_Bay_110_Panel_C4.jpg>

     The two kings below St. Mary both hold scepters in the left hand and grasp the white Jesse Tree vine with the right. Nothing distinguishes the two kings from each other. Only tradition names the first king above Jesse as David and the second king as Solomon. The side figures hold banderoles but nothing is written on them to identify the figures.

Detail of second generic king of Judah above Jesse, usually King Solomon.  He holds a scepter as does King David.

<http://www.medievalart.org.uk/LeMans/110_pages/jpeg_800/Le_Mans_Bay_110_Panel_C3.jpg>

Detail of first king above Jesse, usually King David, though here the figure is a generic king.  King holds a scepter.  Note the the halo and hat are both yellow in this panel.

<http://www.medievalart.org.uk/LeMans/110_pages/jpeg_800/Le_Mans_Bay_110_Panel_C2.jpg>

   Jesse is asleep in bed with the white Jesse tree coming from his body. This Jesse Tree window is usually dated later, about 1250 or so, than the window in the Chapel of the Virgin. This window with its repeated figures and primary color palette is simpler and much less elegant that window #9. The only new element the window adds to the iconography of the Jesse Tree window are the two angels with thuribles.  

     This Jesse Tree window uses much more red glass than the previous Jesse Tree windows discussed. There is plenty of blue in the mandorlas and in the fabric.  The background color though is red and now blue.  On the south side of the choir, the person viewing the window will notice the brighter red given the presence of more sunlight.  I am sure though that the impression of whether this is a red window or a blue window will depend on the angle of the sun by season as well as the time of day.

Detail of Jesse asleep

http://www.medievalart.org.uk/LeMans/110_pages/jpeg_800/Le_Mans_Bay_110_Panel_C1.jpg

     In the floor plan of the chevet at the bottom the page, the sites of the two 13th century Jesse Tree windows are marked with purple lines. Window # 9 is located on the north wall of the axial chapel and window #110 is among the lower clerestory windows on the south side of the choir.

References

Meredith P. Lillich. The Armor of Light: Stained Glass in Western France, 1250-1325.(1994). Berkeley and Los Angeles. University of California Press.

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