Description
Life of Nicholas Window
Delaporte no. 60, Deremble-Manhes no. 39
St. Nicholas was one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages. Little is known about his life, other than that he was the bishop of the city of Myra in Asia Minor, and that he died in died either 345 or 352 A.D. However, his legend was soon embellished with a number of miracles. There are several hymns, poems, and narratives of the life of St. Nicholas. It is also represented in liturgical drama. There were three plays about St. Nicholas. One (Tres Filiae) recounts how Nicholas anonymously gave dowries to the three daughters of an impoverished nobleman. Another (Tres Clergi) tells how Nicholas raised three young clergy who had been murdered by an innkeeper. The last (Ludus super Iconia) relates how a Jew beats a statue of St. Nicholas for allowing his possessions to be stolen. For a discussion of these plays and how they influenced the glass, see Manhes-Deremble, pp 123-8).
At Chartres, copies of the Life of St. Nicholas written by the 9th century John, deacon of the church at Naples, were inserted in lectionaries ms. 500 and ms. 501. There was also an account of the posthumous miracles of St. Nicholas in a lectionary of the nearby abbey church of St. Père of Chartres.
There are three narrative windows about Nicholas on the lower level of Chartres. One has many of the same episodes as this (Delaporte no. 27, Deremble-Manhes no. 14); the other depicts posthumous miracles not shown in the other two windows (Delaporte no. 53, Deremble-Manhes no. 29a). On the lower level, there is also a late 13th century grisaille window with panels inserted in the 15th century showing the figure of St. Nicholas and St. Nicholas resuscitating three youths killed by the innkeeper (Delaporte no. 29, Deremble-Manhes no. 10). In the clerestory is a figure of St. Nicholas in one of the windows given by the tanners (Delaporte no. 167, Deremble-Manhes no. 137) Nicholas also appears as a jamb figure in the right portal of the south porch. Two of his miracles are shown in the tympanum of this portal.
Donors: Merchants (grocers , apothecaries , haberdashers - it is unclear whether these were separate groups, or whether the same merchants sold several types of goods)
Location; fifth bay of the Nave. North side.
8.1 by 2.41 meters
Armature: Four quatrefoils divided by diagonals into 4 panels each. Between them are registers containing demi-medallions
Restored in the 15th century and by Gaudin in 1924.
Subject
Cathédrale de Chartres--Pictorial works.;Church decoration and ornament--France--Chartres--Pictorial works.;Church architecture--France--Chartres--Pictorial works.;Christian art and symbolism--France--Chartres--Medieval, 500-1500--Pictorial works.
