Chapter 10 The retro-quire and quire aisle windows: the church history sequence (1)
The whole of the windows in the aisles is devoted to a great series of Saints and worthies of the Catholic Church, and of the English Branch of it, ranging from the earliest days since Pentecost down to the present day.223
The format of the Church History windows
With the exception of n2 and s2, Clayton and Bell adopted the same design format for all of these lancet windows, thus embedding an artistic and stylistic unity for the ground-level stained glass throughout the whole building. Each lancet consists of a group of three figures, one standing and two seated, with a lower predella scene which depicts a major event in the standing figure’s life. The lancets are bounded by borders, modelled on medieval patterns, functioning as a transition between the stone masonry and the painted and stained glass.224 The top of each lancet has a ‘canopy’ design again based on 14th century models: these are far simpler than the later 15th–16th century Perpendicular canopies which were necessary to fill much larger later windows (Chapter 14, St Mary’s aisle SMs14). There are subtle variations in the colours and designs of both the borders and canopies throughout the Church History sequence providing variety in what would otherwise be a formal repetitive design.
The two exceptions to this standard format are the lancets of St Stephen, n2 and St John the Divine s2: each lancet contains a single figure only, above two scenes from that saint’s life. Their position at the east end of the north and south retro-quire forms a strong focal point for both quire and nave aisles throughout the whole length of the building. The reason for these lancets having a different format to all the others in the sequence is to focus attention on the theological significance of one specific saint rather than a grouping of three figures. St Stephen represents the theme of martyrdom and St John the themes of interpretation and teaching,225 and we have already seen (Chapter 6) how they in turn form a direct link between the final panels in the great east window E1 and the start of the Christian History sequence.
Interpretation
The sequence of one hundred and eight personages in these thirty-eight windows covers the whole history of the Christian Church from Christ’s commission to St Peter to the laying of Truro Cathedral’s foundation stone. The grouping of the figures in units of three implies that there is a theological and historical relationship between them—what Mason referred to as a ‘speaking group’.226 That one figure is shown standing whilst the other two are seated also implies a hierarchy of significance. The clue to the connections between the three personages and the nature of the hierarchy is usually to be found in the pictorial scene in the predella below. In an age that is less biblically or historically literate than the High Victorian, reading and interpreting the ‘speaking group’ in each of the thirty-eight windows poses a demanding challenge today. It is often easiest to start with the predella scene as it is at eye level to the viewer, before moving upwards to the relationships and hierarchy of the trio of figures above. In a number of cases the internal themes within the group of three figures within a window are part of a wider narrative that embraces the subjects in the adjacent lancets. In the retro-quire, the thematic connections between the fourteen figures actually span all six lancets. Consequently, interpreting each individual window makes serious demands on today’s viewer. It is the main purpose of these three chapters to provide for the first time a window-by-window guide to Benson and Mason’s uniquely ambitious vision, whilst also charting the modifications that Mason made to the Master Scheme.
The route
The whole sequence is laid out as a recommended route that starts in the south quire aisle, crosses the retro-quire to the north quire aisle, and then proceeds westwards down that aisle (Chapter 10) to the north transept (Chapter 11). After the transept the route then enters the nave aisles and proceeds through a sequence of alternating north and south paired lancets to end with the Benson window that is situated next to the west door (Chapter 12).
(a) The retro-quire windows
… will be Apostles, or companions and contemporaries of the same, mentioned in the Apostolic writings.( Master Scheme)227
Architectural grouping
The six windows in the retro-quire are a superb example of the way in which Benson and Mason’s Master Scheme for the stained glass windows utilises Pearson’s architectural space to a complex didactic end. The best place to begin the recommended route is at the altar of appropriately named All Saints chapel, in front of the Gospel narratives in the lower east window e1. From this viewpoint the first four windows of the sequence are now clearly visible to the right and left. They contain twelve seminal figures of the Christian Church in its earliest years. However, from this particular viewpoint, the two single-figure windows n2 and s2 remain out of sight: only when the viewer moves into the quire aisles do these two east windows of Saints John and Stephen (n2, s2) become visible. As we have seen (Chapter 6), their primary function is to be the focal point for their respective aisles throughout the whole length of the building, asserting the two themes of teaching and martyrdom, and so forming a link to the great east window above. But they are also an integral part of the beginnings of the Church History sequence here in the retro-quire; thus the number of seminal early Christian figures increases from twelve to fourteen. These six lancets offer a unique opportunity for the viewer to explore the development of the Christian Church in its first decades, a time beset by controversy, crisis and persecution. In these decades exceptional leaders and writers emerged, eventually producing what would come to be the accepted canon of the New Testament. In addition, these six lancets establish broad underlying themes such as mission, martyrdom and inclusiveness that are developed as the Church History sequence unfolds westwards down the north quire aisle.
The evidence for such a multi-layered interpretation lies in the manner in which the subject matter in the six lancets is laid out within the architectural space of the retro-quire. Saints Peter and Paul, the two dominant leaders in the early Church—who traditionally shared the same date for their martyrdom—are directly opposite each other (n3, s3). The crisis over the admission of the Gentiles at the Council of Jerusalem is placed directly opposite the mission to the Gentiles in the years after St Paul (n4, s4). Woven into each lancet’s ‘speaking groups’ of three figures are the compilers of the Gospels and the Epistles of the New Testament. Finally, by returning to the starting point in front of the Gospel narratives in the lower east window e1, informed viewers can absorb the complexity of the overlapping layers of themes in the windows set out in this retro-quire space which resonate between the south and north windows whilst standing before the narratives of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection.
In reading all the themes and subtexts in this space, there is a great deal of similarity to the challenge that the viewer would have faced at the sanctuary rail in the quire had both of the quire transept windows been completed (Chapter 7). There in the sanctuary, the resonance of a typological sequence focussing on the relationships between the Old Testament events and the Gospel stories and teachings in the north and south quire transept windows would have framed the fulfilment of these themes in the iconography of the reredos and great east window. Here in the retro-quire, the messages of the Gospel narratives are framed by the early years of the History of the Christian Church, containing all the thematic elements that will constantly reappear in the events of nearly two thousand years as they are portrayed in the remaining twenty eight lancet windows.
s3. : SS Peter, James the Greater and Mark
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
Both this window and s4 were inserted in , four years after the Cathedral’s consecration. They were given in memory of Thomas Simon Bolitho of Trengwainton, Penzance by Mrs Bolitho and his daughter.228
All the saints here are represented with their customary attributes: St Peter with the keys of Heaven, St James the Greater holding a pilgrim’s staff and with a scallop shell on his hat, and St Mark with a gospel and a quill pen.
St Peter’s dominant position in the group is by virtue of Christ’s commission to him to be the rock on which the Church is founded,229 and this forms the subject of the scene in the predella below.230 St Peter was the spokesman of the Twelve, and was promised by Christ that not only would he would be the rock on which the church was to be built, but also that he would be given the keys to the kingdom of Heaven. Also in the predella scene the youthful figure of St John is recognizable on the left, so establishing a link with the adjacent St John window s2.
St James the Greater was an obvious candidate for inclusion in the window that initiates the whole Church History sequence. He was the most prominent of the Twelve after Peter; the brother of John the Apostle, son of Zebedee the fisherman. James was one of those closest to Christ in the Gospel narratives, being present at the raising of Jairus’ daughter, at the Transfiguration, and the Agony at Gethsemane. He was beheaded by Herod Agrippa in , so being the first of the disciples to suffer martyrdom.231
As we will see so often in this whole sequence of windows, Mason’s concept of such a ‘speaking group’ forces the viewer to search for the reasons for the inclusion of all three figures. After Saints Peter and James the Greater, it would have been predictable to have included a third member of the original Apostles. Instead, St Mark is included, not one of the original Twelve at all, thus inviting a multi-layered interpretation of this group of three. St Mark accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey, with his cousin Barnabas. The foundation of the Church in Alexandria is ascribed traditionally to Mark. Earlier, he was in Rome with Paul and St Peter. He was the author of the first of the synoptic gospels, and based it on Peter’s teaching in Rome. Thus the parallel theme of the evolution of the New Testament canon is centrally placed in this first ‘speaking group’, so establishing a major subtext in the retro-quire windows.
Windows s3 and s4 are therefore best read as a pair because of their shared themes and multi-layered narratives.
s4. : SS James the Less, Matthew and Thomas
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
Both this window and s3 were inserted in , four years after the Cathedral’s consecration. They were given in memory of Thomas Simon Bolitho of Trengwainton, Penzance by Mrs Bolitho and his daughter.232
This window’s predella shows an earlier scene from the Council of Jerusalem than the one that is shown in s11 (see Chapter 9). It represents SS James the Less, Peter and John as leaders of the Jerusalem Church receiving St Paul and St Barnabas. The main feature is the figure of St James standing upon a raised platform with an ornate throne in the foreground. Behind him are the head and shoulders of Peter and John. St James’ left hand clutches the arm of the throne that symbolises James’ leadership of the Council, whilst his other hand greets Paul and Barnabas.
Thus, St James’ leading role in solving this first major crisis of the early church justifies his dominant position in the ‘speaking group’ of three. He is shown in Episcopal robes as the first Bishop of Jerusalem. He is holding a bible in one hand and in the other his attribute of a fuller’s staff, the traditional instrument of his martyrdom.
s4 also includes an evangelist. St Matthew, with his right hand on a bible, is shown in the same position in the group of three as St Mark in s3. The open scroll written in Hebrew in his left hand emphasises that his gospel was written for the early Jewish Christians.
The third apostle is St Thomas. The episode of him touching the wounds of Christ233 was a recurrent image in medieval and later iconography as it fulfilled one of the main functions of religious art, namely to reinforce articles of Christian doctrine.234 There is a tradition that he travelled to evangelize India,235 and he is shown holding his attribute of a spear, the instrument of his martyrdom in that country.
These two windows, s3 and s4, launch the Church History sequence, and should be read as a pair. This group of saints is unified by the shared themes of their witness to Christ’s ministry, their leadership in the early church, and the evolution of the canon of the New Testament, whilst the subtexts of mission and martyrdom are also present.
Before following the recommended route across the retro-quire to the north quire aisle, a further observation must be made in passing on the two single-saint lancets in the east walls of the aisles.
s2 South quire aisle and n2 North quire aisle: St John the Divine and St Stephen
At the end of the North Aisle is seen St. Stephen, the great Deacon and Proto-Martyr. At the end of the South Aisle. St. John the Divine, two types of saintly character, the one of eager zealous work, the other of patient waiting contemplation, both sanctified by suffering, martyrdom and confessorship …236
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
Window s2 in the south quire aisle was inserted in for the consecration of the cathedral.237 It was dedicated by his mother and sister to the Revd John Maxwell-Lyte, the domestic chaplain to the Bishop of Truro, who died at the Bishop’s residence, Lis Escop. Window n2 in the north quire aisle was inserted in , also for the consecration of the Cathedral, in memory of Sir Joseph Rowe, Chief Justice of Jamaica –, by his widow, Dame Frances Rowe.238
The significance of these two windows as elements of the great east window has already been considered (Chapter 6), but now these two single-saint windows can also be located within the context of the Christian History sequence. All the themes that have been identified in s3 and s4 can now be seen to be relevant in these two windows.
In s2, St John joins Mark and Matthew as the third evangelist in the sequence and as the only apostle with a specific Marian connection.239 He is recognisable as a participant in the scene of the commissioning of St Peter and also as being present in the formulation of the early church as shown at the Council of Jerusalem scene.
In n2, St Stephen fulfils a similar function in the Church History themes by emphasising the themes of evangelizing work and martyrdom in an age of persecution that have already formed the subtexts of the windows in the south transept lancets (Chapter 9, s10–s12).
n3. : St Paul, Mary Magdalene and St Luke
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
This window was dedicated to Dame Frances Ann Rowe and inserted in 1890.240
The iconography of this very important window in the Christian History sequence summarises both the previous windows and sets the themes for the succeeding windows throughout the north quire aisle.
Once again, the composition of the ‘speaking group’ is surprising. The main figure is St Paul, holding his martyr’s palm and his customary attribute, a sword. The predella below shows him as Saul, and his conversion on the road to Damascus.241 Artistically this scene must rank as one of the most successful windows in the whole cathedral. Saul is shown wearing Roman armour and seated on a rearing horse. He is blinded by light, with his left arm stretching up to heaven and his right over his face. The dynamism in the representation of the terrified horse and Saul’s streaming cloak gives the scene enormous vigour. In the upper right corner is the hand of God and the inscription ‘why do you persecute me?’ Three servants and soldiers are similarly blinded, while one soldier is being trampled beneath the horse’s hooves. The narrative of Saul’s conversion and St Paul’s subsequent mission to the Gentiles is clear.
It seems logical to include the last of the evangelists, St Luke, in this group. Luke is shown holding a quill and a copy of the Bible and the evangelist is again in the right-hand position in the group. He was St Paul’s companion and the author of the Acts of the Apostles. If we add Paul’s traditionally attributed thirteen epistles to the four gospels and the Acts, most of the authors of the canon of the New Testament have now been included in the sequence.
The third figure in the group is the surprising inclusion, namely Mary Magdalene. She is dressed in a tunic and cloak with her usual long unbound hair. Her left arm holds a jar, the traditional representation of the jar of ointment with which Christ’s feet were anointed.242 However, the fact that Mary Magdalene became the first person to recognise the risen Christ243 justifies her inclusion here. This scene by the empty tomb of ‘noli me tangere’ was a very popular one in Victorian stained glass windows.244 The Christian doctrine of the Resurrection, the basis of St Paul’s mission, is founded on such appearances of Christ to his followers after his death. Thus the ‘speaking group’ unites the themes of witness, mission and the written word.245
n4. North Quire aisle north 2: St Timothy, Dionysius the Areopagite and Onesimus
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
n4 is the last of the six retro-quire windows of the Church History sequence, and was inserted in by ‘many friends’ in memory of Sarah Pollock Benney, née Wells, born c in Sheerness, Kent.246 Among the figures present in the predella are Timothy’s mother Eunice on the left, kneeling in prayer. She is portrayed with the face of the dedicatee, Mrs Benney, who was the wife of one of the captains of the ships on the River Fal. She contributed generously in the early stages of the cathedral’s building, and at this date ( ) was the only living person to be portrayed in the stained glass windows.
The narrative of this window leads directly on from the adjacent St Paul window, as all three figures were converted to Christianity by St Paul. The predella shows the Ordination of Timothy by St Paul.247 Timothy was a constant companion of St Paul,248 and eventually became the Bishop of Ephesus. In the main panel above, he is portrayed vested in Bishop’s robes, excluding a mitre, and holds a length of chain in his left hand while supporting a scroll in the crook of his right arm. Tradition has it that he was martyred by being stoned or clubbed to death, so the significance of the chain may refer to his periods of imprisonment.
The other two converts by St Paul are both saints in their own right in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Seated on the left, Dionysius the Areopagite is dressed in cloak and tunic, barefooted with his right hand carrying a scroll. He was a cultured Athenian who eventually became the second Bishop of Athens (–).249 Seated on the right and gesturing to the St Paul window n3 is Onesimus, dressed in a slave’s tunic and barefooted. He was a slave of Philemon, who ran away and was converted whilst imprisoned with St Paul.250 A large part of St Paul’s letter to Philemon is a plea for his former owner to take Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ.251
On the surface the ‘speaking group’ is clearly one of St Paul’s converts who continued the mission after his death, with St Timothy as the obvious dominant figure. However, Timothy had a Gentile father and a Jewish mother. Dionysius was a Greek of some social standing and Onesimus was a slave. Therefore, the window can also be read as a statement of the racial and social inclusiveness of the early church at this stage, and was a direct result of the resolution of the crisis that faced the Council of Jerusalem. It is therefore significant that this window is directly opposite the one dominated by St James the Less, the leading figure at that Council.
(b) The north quire aisle windows
The series is continued with Apostolic Saints and Martyrs from the close of the first century, with typical martyrs, missionaries, doctors, confessors of East and West …252
The recommended route now continues westwards down the north quire aisle. Unlike the retro-quire windows, this sequence of the Church History is roughly chronological.
As has been shown in Chapter 3, the Master Scheme for the Church History sequence was subject to substantial modification during the second stage of the building of the cathedral through the 1890s and 1900s. The first examples of such modifications occur in the north quire aisle and predate the start of the second stage of building. The correspondence between Mason and Worlledge supplies almost all of the reasons behind Mason’s modifications, and will be dealt with in the analysis of the individual windows.
Architectural constraints
Whereas the architectural setting of the retro-quire works very much to the advantage of its windows scheme and their interpretation, the north quire aisle is almost the opposite. The retro-quire has plenty of light, especially from the south windows: the north quire aisle is north-facing and therefore completely lacking in natural sunlight. Despite the presence of the back of the reredos, the retro-quire has space in which the viewer can freely move backwards and forwards, relating the windows one to another: the north quire aisle is narrow, and it is impossible to stand back from the windows to see each one clearly and to compare one with its neighbours. The north quire aisle seems dark and physically very constrained. Unfortunately, with all of these architectural disadvantages, the interpretation of the north quire windows is further hindered as they contain religious figures that the average viewer today will be very unfamiliar with, and because the inscriptions are all in Latin.
n5. : SS Clement, Ignatius and Polycarp
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
Both n5 and n6 were inserted in by Miss Mary Anne Harriet Wise in memory of her brother the Revd Canon Richard Farquhar Wise, rector of Ladock, who held the stall of St Columb at Truro Cathedral from to .253
All these architectural disadvantages that beset the windows of the north quire aisle are compounded in the case of n5. The northeast quire transept casts its shadow for most of the day, placing this window particularly in a very bad light.
St Clement is the dominant figure in this group. He was Bishop of Rome and around wrote an important letter to the church at Corinth to settle a dispute about the function and authority of the ministers of the Christian Church. It showed for the first time a bishop of Rome intervening effectively in the affairs of another church, and is the first surviving formulation of the idea of apostolic succession.256
St Ignatius was a disciple of St John and became Bishop of Antioch. His letters were a significant witness to Christianity in post-apostolic times. He described the Church of Rome as the one founded by SS Peter and Paul and therefore it was worthy of special reverence. He also emphasised the role of the bishop in each Christian community, a monarchical Episcopal ministry which set the pattern for the future.257
St Polycarp is historically the last of this group of three saints. He was ordained by St John and was a significant link between the time of the Apostles and the earliest Christian Fathers, and the contemporary account of his martyrdom is important evidence for the cult of the saints that emerged as early as the second century.
The predella scene shows St Peter and St Paul teaching St Clement.
The scene establishes with utmost clarity the oral and written authority for the theme of the apostolic succession
in the ‘speaking group’ above. Two years earlier in , Mason’s comment on the scene was
I think it would carry on the sequence of the window scheme very well.
254
Mason did suggest at the same time an alternative that the predella scene could be the ordination of Clement by Peter and Paul
(even though historically incorrect), and of changing the subject of the preceding Timothy window if Chapter thought they might be too similar.
This was the first evidence of Mason and Worlledge debating alterations to the Master Scheme of , and is an excellent example of
the easy relationship that was evident between the two men. Crucially in this letter Mason establishes his hierarchical principle
that the predella ought to be connected with the chief of the three figures above
(author’s emphasis).
n6. : SS Pantaenus, Irenaeus and Justin
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
Both n5 and n6 were inserted in by Miss Mary Anne Harriet Wise in memory of her brother the Revd Canon Richard Farquhar Wise, rector of Ladock, who held the stall of St Columb at Truro Cathedral from to .258
There can be no difficulty in identifying the intention behind this ‘speaking group’ of leading theologians of the second century. They all contributed greatly to theological debate at a time when the Church lacked firm organisation and structures. The group is dominated by St Pantaenus (died ). He was appointed head of the vastly influential Catechetical School of Alexandria, which was responsible for the training of theologians, and which influenced many of the early theological controversies.
St Irenaeus is portrayed as a Bishop holding a flaming torch in token of his great work in maintaining the light of truth against various heresies. He was a disciple of St Polycarp and became Bishop of Lyon (died c ). His writings were a major attack on Gnosticism and other heresies, and he was a staunch advocate of the episcopate.259
St Justin was born c and died c . His two Apologies and his Dialogue have led him to be termed the first Christian philosopher.260
For once, however, the predella does not immediately illuminate why the dominant figure was selected, or reveal the underlying sub-text
for the whole group. The manner in which the scene is portrayed, like the Henry Martyn scenes in the Baptistry, says much about
Victorian imperialist attitudes in the 1880s. The scene refers to the tradition that the saint did indeed go to India, but it seems
an inappropriate selection for a group of such eminent theologians who were not generally associated with missionary activities.
It appears that the subject for the original predella design in the Master Scheme was St Pantaenus embarking on his
Indian mission from the Alexandrian Catechetical School.261
The donor suggested the present scene as an alternative, and Mason seized on it as giving
pleasing variety
.262
It is obvious that Mason’s preference to emphasise the theme of Christian Mission once again triumphed over
Worlledge’s objections. This was one of only a handful of cases in the glazing of the whole cathedral where
the wish of the donor overrode the Master Scheme.
n7. : SS Cyprian, Perpetua and Lawrence
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
Both n7 and n8 were inserted in . The windows were given by Robert Harvey, High Sheriff of Devon, and his siblings and, at the time of insertion, both were dedicated to their mother, Emma Harvey, alone.263 The following year, Samuel Harvey, Emma Harvey’s husband and the donors’ father, died. It is likely that the original inscription (probably a single line of text running across the bottom of both windows) was then replaced with the present separate two-line inscriptions at the bottom of each window, dedicating n7 to Emma Harvey and n8 to Samuel Harvey.
Below the two windows is a brass plaque in memory of Samuel and Emma Harvey and seven of their children who died before the age of 30.
This is the first of a pair of windows exploring the early Christian martyrs of the third and early fourth centuries, thereby reflecting the theme of martyrdom in the St Stephen window at the east end of the aisle.
St Cyprian’s presence as the dominant member of the ‘speaking group’ has already been trailed by his inclusion in the south transept lancets (s11 in Chapter 9) as one of the three Christian leaders in acute times of crisis. He was Bishop Benson’s specialist study, which he started when Head of Wellington College and continued throughout his life265.
The second martyr is St Perpetua, holding her baby imprisoned with her in , whilst the third is St Lawrence who, like St Cyprian, also appeared in s11 in the scene with the ‘treasures of the church’, and like him died in in the Valerian persecution. St Lawrence was the subject of the first window ever commissioned by Benson in whilst he was an assistant master at Rugby School.266
The predella shows the moment of St Cyprian’s execution at the hands of a Roman soldier in the Valerian persecution of .264
As always, the viewer is faced with interpreting why Mason selected this particular group of three and why one figure is given greater emphasis over the other two. There were during these centuries an enormous number of possible martyr subjects for this window. Cyprian’s role as a teacher, writer and leader through crises was far-reaching, and the contemporary accounts of the circumstances of his martyrdom were widely circulated later. Benson’s lifetime study of him was surely an added reason for his prominence in this window and in s11. St Perpetua was a victim of the earlier persecution of Septimus Severus, and again in the contemporary account of her imprisonment, visions and death led to her being venerated as saint for mothers and expectant mothers. St Lawrence’s traditional martyrdom on a gridiron resulted in him being one of the most often portrayed martyrs in medieval and later art. Therefore, the reason these three were chosen would seem to be the effect their martyrdom had on subsequent generations and in establishing the concept of the cult of the saints.
n8. : SS Alban, Pancras and Catherine
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
Both n7 and n8 were inserted in . The windows were given by Robert Harvey, High Sheriff of Devon, and his siblings and, at the time of insertion, both were dedicated to their mother, Emma Harvey, alone.267 The following year, Samuel Harvey, Emma Harvey’s husband and the donors’ father, died. It is likely that the original inscription (probably a single line of text running across the bottom of both windows) was then replaced with the present separate two-line inscriptions at the bottom of each window, dedicating n7 to Emma Harvey and n8 to Samuel Harvey.
Below the two windows is a brass plaque in memory of Samuel and Emma Harvey and seven of their children who died before the age of 30.
As has already been seen, one of the features of the Church History sequence is the way in which the pairs of lancets within an architectural bay have sometimes to be considered as a theological unity, as in the Peter and James lancets (s3/s4) in the south retro-quire and the Paul and Timothy lancets (n3/n4) in the north retro-quire. In this case, the two early Christian martyr lancets make far more impact when they too are analysed as a pair.
All three of the martyrs in n8 were traditionally viewed as victims of the Diocletian persecution of , and all are shown holding a martyr’s palm.
The parallels with n7 become immediately apparent: the martyrdom of these three saints had a similar impact on subsequent generations of Christians. St Pancras and St Perpetua were two of a number of very young people who chose to die for their faith rather than renounce it: Saints Agnes and Dorothea, for example, were equally highly venerated in later ages. Like St Lawrence in the earlier window, St Catherine became one of the most frequently represented saints in later Christian art, whether it be in statuary, fresco, stained glass or illuminated illustration. Note also that there is an iconographic symmetry in the disposition of these saints in this pair of windows.
St Cyprian’s dominant position in the group in the earlier n7 has been shown not only as a martyr, but more importantly as one of the most influential of the early Christian Doctors. So why was St Alban considered to be of greater significance than, say, Catherine or Lawrence? The predella reminds the viewer of the circumstances of his martyrdom. It shows not his execution, as in the adjacent Cyprian lancet, but the moment when he stood as a Roman soldier accused before a judge and his peers for his act in protecting a Christian fugitive priest and taking his identity. Therefore, the reason for Alban’s dominance in this window is that he was the proto-martyr of Britain. His is the first example in these narratives of the theme of Christianity in Britain that is to play such an important part later in the Church History sequence.
n9. : SS Helen, Origen and Jerome
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
n9 is one of a pair (with n10) of windows inserted in and donated by Mrs Jane Mary Smith-Dampier of Twyford House, Winchester, the daughter of John Lucius Dampier, the dedicatee of n10. The dedicatee of this window was Sir Edward Smirke, vice-warden of the Stannery Courts of Devon and Cornwall in succession to John Lucius Dampier.268
As already mentioned in Chapter 3, this window was the only major example in the whole sequence of the quire aisles and north transept where the Master Scheme was altered. The whole design for the original n12 was scrapped: its subjects were to have been St Jerome, St Ephraim Syrus and St Leo; with the predella scene St Jerome translating the Bible. A new window of SS Helen, Origen and Jerome was inserted as n9, and the designs for the remaining three windows in the scheme were moved westwards by one lancet. Significantly, all of these alterations were suggested by Canon Mason in a letter of , only three years after the cathedral’s consecration and five years before this window was donated.269 In the following extract, Mason’s system of window numbering is not the current nomenclature, which has been inserted in brackets).
I should like to say that I have slightly altered the list of subjects. I ought perhaps to have put the proposed alterations formally before the Chapter [author’s emphasis]. I felt that the crisis of the conversion of the Empire needed more recognition than it had in my original scheme, and so I cut out the window No 8 (n12) which you mention, and between 4 (n8) St Alban and 5 (n10) St Athanase I inserted a new No. 5 (n9) representing St Helen attends by Origen and St Jerome, with the Invention of the Cross for the predella. I do not know whether I need enter at present into the further reasons for this change.
This is the first recorded instance of the dominant role that Mason was to play in the evolution of the
cathedral’s windows (and indeed many other features in the cathedral) over the next fifteen to twenty years.
The sense of ownership that Mason already had over the Master Scheme of is shown by his phrase
my original scheme
, and confirmed by the fact that he was proceeding with his modifications
without putting them formally to Chapter.
In a later letter270 we actually have Mason’s own words giving his reasons for dropping St Leo from the sequence, and for putting Helen with Origen and Jerome together as a ‘speaking group’.
I much fear that St Leo will have to go, though I have struggled hard to retain him. His see is, I think, well represented by St Clement at one end of the first series and St Gregory at the other, whereas there is no figure to represent the Empire unless one puts St Helen, and I felt it was wrong to leave out St Origen as I had at first done. Origen’s connection with Mammaea,271 and St Jerome’s with the great ladies of Rome,272 and that of St Helen with Origen’s and Jerome’s Palestine seemed to give reasons for making these three up into a group.
It is worthy of comment that Mason gives a gender reason as one of the themes of this group; a suitable riposte to many modern criticisms that the whole sequence is too male-orientated.
The battle of Milvian bridge, which secured Constantine’s victory, has already been identified in the Master Scheme as one of the great crises in early Christian history in the south transept window (Chapter 9 s12), so perhaps it justifies St Helen’s place as the dominant figure over that of Jerome, one of the Latin Doctors. In the window, she is shown with a crown indicating her status as Empress, mother to Constantine (c–). The predella below shows the traditional story of St Helena finding our Saviour’s cross in Jerusalem. In the foreground the cross of Christ indicated by INRI on the paper trapped beneath it. Helen stands crowned and in prayer in the background, whilst a woman is being healed of her illness by contact with the true cross according to popular legend. Her imperial endorsement of the Church in Jerusalem made the city a new centre of world pilgrimage.273
In the grouping, St Origen (–) is portrayed dressed in a robe and cloak, his eyes downcast. His right hand holds a quill pen, his left arm rests upon a book marked De Principus, one of the first philosophical expositions on Christian doctrine.274 His importance is two-fold as a biblical scholar and speculative theologian.275 St Jerome (–) is shown vested in Cardinal’s hat and robes, his hands hold a quill pen and a book symbolising his most important claim to fame, his translation of the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible. A lion lies to the right of his feet, reflecting an erroneous tradition as Jerome’s tame companion whilst in prison.276
n10. : SS Athanasius, Basil and John Chrysostom
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
n10 was the second window (the first being n9) to be inserted in . It is dedicated to John Lucius Dampier, Vice-Warden of the Stannary Courts of Cornwall and Devon, and was donated by his daughter, Mrs Jane Mary Smith-Dampier of Twyford House, Winchester, and other members of the family.277
With the insertion of the new n9, the final three lancets in the north quire aisle sequence are now located one window westwards from their original position in the Master Scheme.
This ‘speaking group’ consists of three of the Greek Doctors, each clad in bishop’s robes of the Eastern Orthodox Church. St Athanasius (–), Patriarch of Alexandria, is in the dominant standing position with his right hand raised in blessing, his left holding out an open book. He was the champion of the true Christian faith against the Arian heresy, whose supporters formed the dominant political party in Alexandria. They were responsible for the initial persecution and deposition of Athanasius. The predella scene represents the return of St Athanasius to Alexandria from exile. He is shown wearing Eastern Orthodox vestments, riding on a donkey and carrying a bible. The scene has an astonishing resemblance to the traditional depiction of the entry of Christ into Jerusalem, even to the palms in the background and the cloaks on the ground under the donkey’s feet.
St Basil (–), bishop of Caesarea, was similarly a strong opponent of Arianism, but he also played a dominant part in the organisation of monasticism in the East, and his rules for monastic life were imitated and adapted to local conditions in the West.278 St John Chrysostom (–), archbishop of Constantinople, was renowned for amongst other things his asceticism, and is here portrayed as one racked with physical suffering. He is shown holding his attribute of a beehive (shared with Sts Bernard of Clairvaux and Ambrose) a tribute to the power of his eloquence.279
Measured in terms of their theological legacy, this grouping of three Doctors represents one of the most powerful in the whole Church History sequence, yet, with the exception of n23 (John of Damascus) and s16 (Methodius) it will be the last time that figures from the Eastern Church will be represented in the Church History sequence.
n11. : SS Ambrose, Augustine and Monica.
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
n11 was inserted in and donated by the Revd Canon Francis Vansittart Thornton, rector of South Hill with Callington, in memory of his wife Mary Louisa Thornton.280
The sequence now switches back to the Western Church with two more of the Latin Doctors. St Ambrose (–), vested as Archbishop of Milan, wearing bejewelled orphreys and gloves, is placed in front of the archiepiscopal throne holding a scourge in his right hand. Seated to his right is St Augustine (–), vested as Bishop of Hippo including mitre and gloves. His right hand clasps a crozier held diagonally and his left holds up a heart with a flame leaping from the top. On the right, St Monica (–), the mother of St Augustine, is dressed in a robe, cloak and widow’s veil, gazes across to St Augustine. Her right hand lies across an open book on her lap; her left hand holds a veiled monstrance.
The predella scene represents the Roman Emperor
Theodosius painting
by Rubens / van Dyck. Eight months later, Theodosius
came to Ambrose to confess to the massacre. The subject given in the
Master Scheme for this predella is
St. Austin’s conversion,
and so this window, inserted only four years after the
consecration of the Cathedral, is one of the first
in which the subject-matter diverges from the Master Scheme.
These last three windows
in the north quire aisle draw many themes together. n10
and n11 focus on the Doctors of the Western and Eastern Churches, which also reminds us
that they occupy a dominant position in the great east window (E1,
see Chapter 6). This window marks the making of Latin Christianity and a chronological point immediately preceding
the fall of the Roman Empire.281
The final window in this aisle establishes the theme of monastic activity as a prelude to the next stage in the Church History sequence in the north transept.
n12. : SS Benedict, Antony of Egypt and Scholastica
Donor, dedicatee and insertion.
n12 was inserted in , the last in this section to be
filled
.282
It was donated by the Family
in memory of Canon Francis Vansittart Thornton, who held the stall of St Breaca
from to .283
This window draws together the monastic theme that has been present in a number of earlier windows. The first wave of Christian monastic figures is represented by the seated figure of St Anthony of Egypt (–), who is shown bearded with bare feet and wearing a monk’s habit. The holiness of his earlier life as a hermit attracted many others and he came out of his solitude to organise them into a community. Athanasius (n8) wrote Antony’s biography.284 The dominant standing figure is St Benedict (–), clothed in the habit of his order, his right hand resting on a builder’s shovel while his left holds a book under his arm. The other seated figure is St Benedict’s sister, St Scholastica (–), wearing a nun’s habit including veil and wimple. Her right and rests on a model of a building placed in her lap. She was the first Benedictine nun, and as the building does not look like a representation of Monte Cassino, one assumes that it is meant to show her nunnery at nearby Plombariola.
The predella takes up the theme of St Benedict’s monastic activity by showing him building the monastery of Monte Cassino near Naples in . He holds a scroll supervising the building activities of several monks. It was here that he planned to reform monasticism and composed his Rule (Regula Magistri), which ever since has established the way of life for monastic communities.285 Again, there is a parallel here to the role of St Basil (n8) in formulating monasticism in the Eastern Church.
A footnote to this window is contained in a letter from Mason, showing the extreme care that he took over the composition
of his ‘speaking groups’.286
He was still considering keeping St Leo in this design as originally intended in the Master Scheme.
There is, I think, no other name that could give way to Leo’s. St Scholastica, in the Benet
window, is indeed not a very great figure in herself; but it is necessary to have
someone as a type of her class; and it would spoil the meaning of the ascetic windows to introduce a figure
of a different type.
Conclusion to the retro-quire and north quire aisle sequence
This window brings an end to the recommended route of the retro-quire and the north quire aisle. The first five centuries of the history of the Christian Church have been told through a selection of thirty-eight figures and fourteen scenes, producing a multi-layered narrative of interlocking motifs. The prevailing themes of teaching and writing from the St John window and martyrdom from the St Stephen window at the head of each aisle form common threads throughout this first part of the Church History sequence. The formulation of the canon of the New Testament, its translation and interpretation are also consistent themes. The establishment of Christian witness and tradition, the cult of sainthood, and the apostolic succession from the commission of St Peter are central to this sequence. Behind so many of the chosen figures lie many episodes of controversy, crises and persecution. The founding Doctors of both the Western and Eastern Church have been placed in historical and theological context, as has the emergence of monasticism from individual hermits to organised systems.
This set of windows remains a remarkable Victorian vision of the role of key figures of early Christianity in the development of the Church and their legacy. It is unique in its comprehensiveness and its didactic rigour. It was a product of an age that was both biblically literate and informed in matters of church history and theology.
However, there are serious doubts about its effectiveness in the twenty-first century, where such literacy is generally absent.
The architectural and aesthetic context of the north quire aisle, with its aforementioned drawbacks of space and light,
render the reading and interpretation of these windows difficult. The fact that all the inscriptions are in Latin is a
severe barrier today. This must have been a problem that Mason anticipated, for as Clayton and Bell wrote later
he [Mason] advises the use of the English form in all of the nave windows.
287
Traditional signage is not sufficient to help the modern viewer cope with understanding the complexity of the scheme,
and it remains a major challenge to bring Mason’s vision alive today.
References
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- NHJ Westlake A History of Design in Painted Glass, Vol 1, p 86, London, James Parker and Co, is one of the most well-known of the contemporary studies of medieval stained glass of the period.
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- Letter from Canon Mason (Canterbury) to Chancellor Worlledge.
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- , , , , , .
- .
- .
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- , , , , , .
- .
- .
- .
- .
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- , . Residentiary Chapter Minute Book, 1889, p 77.
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And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
.
- , The Church in the West (CintW) : .
- .
- .
- .
- ‘Noli me tangere’ appears in fifteen Cornish churches in Victorian stained glass windows (author’s TRUROSEE listing of all windows in the Truro Diocese).
- . The positioning of Mary Magdalene with St Paul opposite the Peter window may refer to the tradition of arguments between her and St Peter.
- Marriage of Richard Benney and Sarah Polock [sic] Wells at St Clement, , . The Census HO107/1910 (Part 3), Folio 120, p 17, records Richard Benney, 25, River Pilot, born in St Clement and his wife Sarah B [sic] Benney, 25, born in Sheerness, Kent, living in Lunar Row, Truro. Chapter minutes , , .
- , .
- , , .
- .
- .
- .
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- Chapter Minute book, insertion , , .
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I feel half inclined to suggest a much more debateable subject for the predella of the other window—the ordination of Clement by St Peter and St Paul! If in the Timothy window the predella were changed the two subjects would not be too much alike. If it would be too unhistorical to represent Clement as ordained (not necessarily made bishop) by St Peter and St Paul, he might at any rate be represented as a young man listening to them.
Letter from Canon Mason (Canterbury) to Chancellor Worlledge:
- p 198, ,
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- Chapter Minute book, insertion , , .
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- .
- .
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It was very good to hear of Miss Wise’s proposal. I do not see why you should be so sceptical about the mission of Pantaenus to India. Jerome’s account is doubtless full of blunders, which he has needlessly introduced into what he translated from Eusebius; but I think Eusebius’ statement is quite clear and self consistent and I see no more reason for doubting it than for doubting almost any other fact for which Eusebius is our sole existing authority. Artistically I think the sailing for India (or arrival in India) will give a pleasing variety; and historically I think it an even more profitable point to seize than the mastership of the Catechetical School.
Letter from Canon Mason (Canterbury) to Chancellor Worlledge:
- Chapter minutes , , .
- Under an edict of , all Christian clergy were required to sacrifice to the gods, and in the following year failure to do so was made punishable by death.
-
Benson AC, The Life of Edward White Benson, sometime Archbishop of Canterbury,
London, Macmillan and Co., Limited, ,
Vol .
, at the suggestion of Professor Lightfoot
, p 167
finding that he was somewhat losing his hold on ecclesiastical studies, he took up the subject of Cyprian for his own private reading.
This was eventually published in : Edward White Benson St Cyprian; His Life, His Times, His Work. MacMillan. - WCA, 59–61 : letters and cartoons between Benson and A Lusson of Paris, February–October 1864. HT Rhoades A guidebook of Rugby School Chapel, George E Over, 1913, Part 3.
- Chapter minutes , , .
- Cathedral Local Building committee minutes , , .
- Letter from Canon Mason (7 Trinity Square, London) to Chancellor Worlledge, .
- Letter from Canon Mason (7 Trinity Square, London) to Chancellor Worlledge, .
- Empress Mammaea, mother of Emperor Alexander Severus, engaged Origen as her son’s tutor.
- c St Jerome was in Rome fostering a movement of Christian asceticism amongst a group of Roman ladies. Amongst others, Paula and Eustochim later followed him to Palestine.
- .
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Origen was a special interest for Mason:
Nottinghamshire Archives DD/716/69/4.
Diaries of Canon Mason –,
Reading articles on Origen
andreading Origen’s “De Principus”
. - .
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- Cathedral Local Building committee minutes . , .
- .
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- Chapter Minute Book , , , .
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- D/E/8/1 Truro Diocesan Magazine p 33.
- Chapter minutes .
- .
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- Letter from Canon Mason (7 Trinity Square, London) to Chancellor Worlledge.
- Letter from Clayton and Bell to Canon Worlledge.