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they are on highly enriched back-grounds of blue, green, &c. and are bounded by columns pencilledas masonry as high as the commencement of the canopies, which they seemingly support, thesebeing pinnacled, crocketed, and buttressed upwards. Exterior to these is an enriched border, whichincloses the whole subject. The canopies are very lofty and spiral, acutely pointed in their upperparts, and pierced in many forms, representing windows, &c. differently coloured; the lower partsare hexagonal, having a sort of roof to connect them with the upper portions. Many bands ofcolour of different tints are introduced, and an arch beneath spans the width. The parts below thefigures were originally pedestalled in the form of panels, containing coats of arms, inclosed within aborder formed of a quatrefoil and square combined.* Some of these are still to be seen distributedamongst the fragments in the different windows; indeed the whole of these still beautiful remainsare in a lamentably neglected and imperfect state. Many other instances exist, shewing the heraldictaste of this period in connexion with this art, as in the
Armorial Window in York Minster ,
which is one of the windows in the north aisle, in which nearly the whole sixteen remain filled withstained glass. This window has three quatrefoils in the tracery, which constitute the main part of it;they are filled with foliaged ornaments similar to those at Tewkesbury abbey. Below these are thethree principal lights, which contain six subjects, each under a lofty canopy, and at the bottom of thecentre light, is a mortuary figure kneeling. Interspersed with these are coats of arms and figures incoats armorial: the latter are, first, the Emperor , King of Arragon, Old England, Old France , thesame repeated, Beauchamp, Clare, Beauchamp repeated, Ross, Mowbray, Clifford, and Percy. Theshields of arms are, from the top downwards, St. Peter, the Imperial, England, Old France , Arragon,King of the Romans, Castile and Leon, Jerusalem , and Navarre. Each light is inclosed with a narmorial border of the imperial eagles and the regal lions rampant, each on their proper field.Although this window is more especially heraldic, from which circumstance it is termed theArmorial Window , still there are few of the windows of this age in the same Minster which havenot a liberal sprinkling of heraldry, and even in this instance it is, as previously shewn, intermixedwith sacred subjects, a remark which will apply to most other edifices. The fact is, chivalry and theCatholic religion were so intimately combined in the middle ages, that the free use of what seemsto us merely secular ornaments need not create surprise. Arms were, in a sense, religious emblems;they pertained to the soldier of the cross ; they could not be separated from the Church, in whoseservice the bearers of them were proud to fight. The very origin of heraldry, the crusadingexpeditions, was religious ; and it is necessary in considering the works of the ancient artists to bearthis in mind, lest we should attribute to them a secular spirit, which they were far from possessing.fThe great west window of York Minster is also a fine example of figures and canopies: in it aredepicted the eight first archbishops, and eight saints of the Church; at the bottom of the window ismuch pattern and reticulated work, instead of pedestals, to elevate the lower row of figures from thebottom of the cill. In many instances in the same edifice and elsewhere, the figures of saints, &c.are exhibited under canopies, and beneath them medallion subjects illustrating some event connectedwith their history; nor were these windows always occupied with coloured glass in full design,but quarrels, ornamented and plain, frequently occurred at different parts as a back-ground to thewhole. Although single figures under canopies formed the prevalent style at this time, still aninclination to medalhoned legend lingered in the practice of placing subjects of two or more figurestogether beneath canopies, but confining them to one compartment, as in the armorial window, andtaking care that each should be complete in itself. A good example of this description is in the
* Vide Pedestals in Plate of Altar Windows, St. Chad’s, Birmingham .
■f A MS. in the Lansdowne Collection (874, fol. 117 b ), now in the British Museum , preserves some coats of arms whichwere remaining in the windows of old St. Paul’s cathedral , about the year 1609 ; they were drawn in pen and ink by Nicholas CharlesSomerset Herald. Amongst them are those of Ralph Hengeham and John of Gaunt .