The south side of the choir clerestory at Bourges Cathedral contains a remarkably complete early-Gothic cycle of New Testament figures, created between about 1200 and 1225. These tall, independent lancets depict apostles and evangelists in a unified iconographic programme, forming a deliberate counterpart to the Old Testament prophets on the north side of the choir.

The only New Testament figures not on the south side are those in the apex window, w.200 - the Virgin and Child with St Stephen — which stand on the north side and serve a special liturgical and dedicatory function.

1. Apostles and Disciples

The bulk of the south-side clerestory is occupied by pairs and triplets of apostles, each identified by an attribute linked to their ministry, teaching, or martyrdom. These include:

• Peter and Paul (w.202)

• Andrew and John (w.204)

• James the Greater, Philip, Thomas (w.206)

• Bartholomew, Matthias, Simon (w.208)

• James the Less, Barnabas, Thaddeus (w.210)

Together these figures form a complete visual representation of the apostolic college, placed above the choir stalls where the cathedral chapter performed the daily liturgy.

2. Evangelists

The apostolic cycle on the south side concludes with the Evangelists (w.212):

• Mark

• Luke

• Matthias in the Evangelist position otherwise associated with Matthew

Their figures match the same stylistic idiom used for the apostles: deep coloured grounds, elongated proportions, and the repeating red–blue geometric borders characteristic of the Bourges glazing workshops.

3. Relationship to the North Side

The south-side New Testament figures face the Old Testament prophets on the north side of the clerestory (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc.). Between the prophetic cycle stands the exceptional north-side apex window, w.200, depicting the Virgin and Child with St Stephen — a placement reflecting both the Incarnation and the cathedral’s dedication.

This south–north dialogue between New and Old Testaments, apostles and prophets, is one of the key theological structuring principles of the Bourges choir glazing.

4. Workshop and Style

The south-side lancets share consistent features typical of the early 13th-century Bourges workshops:

• elongated bodies and strong vertical rhythm

• stylised, expressive faces

• saturated cobalt and ruby glass

• simple but dignified architectural framing

• the distinctive repeating border motif linking all bays

This cohesion suggests a single workshop or closely coordinated team active during the first great glazing phase of the cathedral.