Window w.200 occupies the north-side apex of the Bourges choir clerestory and forms the visual and theological keystone of the entire glazing scheme. Dating from 1200–1225, it stands at the central axis of the choir and pairs two foundational figures: the Virgin and Child, representing the Incarnation and the liturgical identity of the cathedral, and St Stephen, the cathedral’s patron and the first Christian martyr. Although the rest of the New Testament cycle is located on the south side of the clerestory, w.200 is uniquely placed on the north side due to its special dedicatory significance.

Description of the Window
The window consists of two tall lancets beneath Gothic canopies, framed by the characteristic red–and–blue geometric borders that unify the clerestory scheme. The elongated proportions, modelling of the faces, and rhythmic drapery folds firmly situate the window within the early phase of the Bourges glazing workshops.

The Virgin and Child (left)

The left lancet presents the Virgin standing, holding the Christ Child on her left arm. The Child raises His right hand in blessing while resting His other hand against His mother’s shoulder; He carries no attribute, a feature typical of early-Gothic Marian imagery. The Virgin’s mantle, drawn in long vertical folds, accentuates the linear elegance of the composition. Her frontal pose and serene expression reflect the transitional style between Romanesque hieraticism and early-Gothic grace.

Iconographic significance
The Virgin and Child form the doctrinal centre of the clerestory programme. Their placement directly above the liturgical heart of the cathedral reinforces the Incarnation as the theological foundation of Christian salvation, mirrored by the prophets on the north and apostles on the south.

St Stephen (right)

The right lancet shows St Stephen, identified not by the later-medieval stones but by the model of a church held reverently in both hands. The church model symbolises:

• Stephen as patron of the cathedral

• the heavenly Jerusalem described in Acts and interpreted in medieval exegesis

• the spiritual architecture of the Church built on the witness of martyrs

Stephen wears a deacon’s dalmatic, delineated in simple vertical folds, and his tonsured head aligns him iconographically with early ecclesiastical office rather than with martyrdom narrative. The omission of the stones is consistent with early-Gothic iconography in northern France, where the emphasis was on Stephen’s role as deacon and proto-witness rather than on his violent death.

Iconographic significance
Stephen’s presence next to the Virgin and Child marks the cathedral’s patronage and asserts the continuity of witness from the Incarnation to the first martyr. The pairing reinforces the unity of doctrine across the clerestory’s two sides: Old Testament prophecy (north) and New Testament witness (south).

Iconographic Notes

Window w.200 functions as the theological axis around which the entire clerestory sequence is organised. The Virgin embodies fulfilment of prophecy; the Child represents divine revelation; Stephen, the first martyr and patron, completes the doctrinal arc that the prophets (north) and apostles (south) articulate across the choir.

The decision not to include Stephen’s martyrdom stones, nor to give the Christ Child any royal or symbolic attribute, reflects the restrained, frontal visual language characteristic of early-Gothic glazing before the fuller narrative elaboration of the later 13th century.

Stylistic Notes

The modelling of faces, the elongated proportions, and the sumptuous cobalt and ruby grounds place the window firmly within the earliest workshop phase of the Bourges clerestory. The regular border motifs and architectural framing unify it visually with the apostolic and prophetic windows, even though its subject matter sets it apart.

W.200 likely served as the master template for the glazing teams, establishing the style and compositional language adopted across the choir.