Adam and Eve - St Goddard, Rouen, France

This stained glass register, from the window Proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception at Saint-Godard in Rouen, centers on the biblical scene of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden — a striking inclusion within a window devoted to Marian theology.

In this middle panel, Adam and Eve are beside the Tree of Knowledge, with the serpent coiled around it. This depicts the Fall of Man, the origin of original sin.

To the left the figures in ancient or biblical dress, are the prophets and early Church Fathers that represent the faith of the Church in the past, foreshadowing Mary’s sinless conception. The figures to the right are Franciscan and clerical figures, in more modern in appearance. These represent those who defended and proclaimed the dogma, especially the Franciscan theologians (e.g., Duns Scotus) and Pope Pius IX. The central motif below Adam and Eve is a radiant dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, bridging the Fall and Redemption.

In essence, the window contrasts the Fall (Adam and Eve) with Mary’s Immaculate Conception, showing how the Church, from prophetic anticipation to papal proclamation, interprets Mary as the new Eve, untouched by original sin.