The stained glass windows at Angers Cathedral: Donors and iconography

The stained glass windows of the choir of Angers Cathedral can be dated to C. 1230-35 and still carry evidence of heraldry, implicitly drawing attention to the role of the donors. Bishop Guillaume de Beaumont (1202-40) gave the windows of Saint-Julien of Le Mans, Saint Thomas Becket and of the Virgin and Child, and undoubtedly participated in the planning of the iconographic programme. Other members of the cathedral chapter were also involved, such as Richard de Tosny, cathedral treasurer and a nephew of Bishop Guillaume, who commissioned the window representing John the Baptist. And another canon, who can no longer be identified, was represented at the feet of the Virgin in the Tree of Jesse window. Taken as a whole, the iconographic programme demonstrates a strong concern for the relics possessed by the cathedral, and the cult of certain saints within the diocese. The windows exalt the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and particularly emphasise the role of the episcopacy by representing the lives of sainted bishops. Local beliefs are also strongly upheld; the windows glorify the antiquity of the bishops of Angers and affirm the apostolate of Saint-Julien of Le Mans. A considerable number of scenes depict the fight against demons and pagan practices. Furthermore, we notice the glorification of the Virgin. One window shows the Virgin in Majesty and another recalls the story of Theophilus. Finally, the tense relations between representatives of temporal and spiritual power are underlined in the lives of Saint-Eloi, Saint-Julien and Saint Thomas Becket.