This large late-13th-century window combines a genealogical Tree of Jesse rising through the central lights with a narrative cycle of the Infancy of Christ in the flanking panels. The scheme belongs to the mature Gothic glazing programme at Tours and reflects the period’s interest in uniting typology and narrative within a single monumental window. The tracery above contains Old Testament prefigurations of Christ’s sacrifice.

Iconographic Scheme

Central Axis – The Tree of Jesse

The six central medallions form the vertical spine of the Tree:

1. Register 6 (bottom): Jesse recumbent — the root from which the tree grows

2. Registers 5 to 2: Kings of Judah, each holding a sceptre or scroll, representing Christ’s royal ancestry

3. Register 1 (top of main window): Christ enthroned, completing the genealogy

The kings are shown in roundels framed by interlace motifs, typical of northern French Jesse windows of the late 13th century.

Flanking Narratives – Infancy of Christ Cycle

Each register features two narrative scenes relating to Christ’s conception, birth, epiphany, and early life. They ascend in broadly chronological order, though not strictly linear.

REGISTER 6 – Donors

Left: Donor in prayer Centre: Furriers and Drapers’ guild (donors) Right: Donor in prayer

REGISTER 5

Left: Annunciation Centre: Jesse recumbent Right: Visitation

REGISTER 4

Left: Annunciation to the Shepherds Centre: King of Judah Right: Nativity (Mary, Joseph, the Child, ox and ass)

REGISTER 3

Left: Herod and the Magi Centre: King of Judah Right: Journey of the Magi (the kings on horseback)

REGISTER 2

Left: Epiphany (Adoration of the Magi) Centre: King of Judah Right: Circumcision in the Temple 

REGISTER 1 – Uppermost narrative tier

• Left: Massacre of the Innocents

• Centre: Christ enthroned

• Right: Flight into Egypt

This tier forms the dramatic culmination of the narrative.

Tracery

The tracery contains Old Testament prefigurations of Christ’s sacrifice:

• Abraham and Isaac

• Angel with the Lamb, halting the sacrifice

These link the genealogical tree to the salvific narrative.

Style and Workshop

The window displays the brilliant palette and confident linework typical of the Tours ateliers during the final third of the 13th century. The kings in the central medallions are marked by rounded faces, crisply drawn drapery, and saturated cobalt and ruby grounds. The narrative panels show more movement and denser compositional groupings, characteristic of the same workshop’s work in the nave clerestory.

Restoration appears minimal in the principal lights; some border and canopy renewals may date to the 19th century but do not disrupt the original medieval design.

Significance

This window is one of the most complete surviving Jesse Trees of late-medieval France. Its integration of:

• a royal genealogy,

• an extensive Infancy of Christ cycle, and

• typological tracery imagery

makes it an outstanding example of Gothic theological synthesis in stained glass.