The lancet depicts St Paul standing against a cobalt blue ground and enclosed by the characteristic red-and-blue lozenge border of the Bourges clerestory. He is dressed in a red mantle over a green tunic, with the sharply modelled face, pointed beard, and high forehead standard for medieval representations of Paul.

Paul’s identifying attribute is unmistakably present: a sword, but in an early Gothic variant of the motif. He holds the tip of the blade lightly in his left hand, while the hilt rests on his right shoulder. The blade runs diagonally downwards across his body. This restrained pose contrasts with the later, more assertive “brandished” sword type and reflects a 13th-century visual language focused on apostolic authority rather than martyrdom.

Iconographic Notes
The sword identifies Paul as the author of the Epistles and commemorates his martyrdom by beheading. The gentle grip on the blade and the diagonal alignment is consistent with several northern French workshops of the early 13th century. His raised right hand suggests instruction rather than action, integrating him smoothly into the clerestory’s teaching-focused apostolic programme.