Phase 2

Phase 2

By the 1240s and 1250s the windows of the choir aisles and radiating chapels were ready for glazing.  The organization of the armatures was less complex and the colors slightly less saturated, admitting more light.  The program featured lives of the saints appropriate for the dedication of each chapel and of the Virgin Mary.  Some windows were donated by local guilds: the surviving signature panel of the textile provides a very early depiction of a mechanized loom.  A window in the axial chapel represented the Tree of Jesse--surviving fragments have recently been incorporated into a new window.  One choir chapel, dedicated to Saint Eloi, still has fragments of its original window in place.

The glazing of the nave clerestory also belonged to these years.  Unfortunately, while the identity of donors was recorded before its destruction it is impossible to be certain of the figurative content--perhaps local saints and bishops.  Many of the windows were donated by urban families.

Mechanized Loom (c. 1240s)
Mechanized Loom (c. 1240s)
Drawing Out Woolen Yarn (c. 1245)
Drawing Out Woolen Yarn (c. 1245)
Tree of Jesse c.1245
Tree of Jesse c.1245