Here, the main detail shows a wooden cross, a hammer, a pair of pincers, and a crown of thorns.
These are all items associated with Jesus’ passion – the cross upon which Jesus was crucified, the hammer for hammering the nails into the cross through Jesus’ wrists and feet, and the pincers for pulling out the nails.
The main detail shows a lamb holding a staff surmounted by a banner. The banner itself bears a red cross on a white background like the St. George’s cross. In religious art such an image is known as an Agnus Dei (Lamb of God, in Latin).
In the Christian tradition, the ultimate mission of Jesus to die on the cross to atone for our sin is analogous to the sacrifice of a lamb. John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God –
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”. [John, 1:29]
In the north transept there are seven windows one of which is the small window situated in the peak of the gable. Here, we show views from the inside and outside of the church.
This window cannot be photographed properly without the aid of a ladder or a giraffe as it is high up and partially hidden by its masonry surround. It has five outer circular panes, like the peak window in the south transept but unlike the peak windows in the east and west gables which have four and six outer panes, respectively.
We will discuss the other six windows in an east to west (right to left) direction, numbering them 1 to 6, respectively. They may be accessed using the menu at top left.
According to tradition and some apocryphal literature, Saint Anne (or Ann or Anna, from the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning favour or grace) was the mother of Mary and the grandmother of Jesus. Legends and stories abound concerning Anne and she is sometimes confused with Anna the Prophetess who was present at Jesus’ presentation in the Temple.
In the window, Anne is holding a book bearing the inscription “ECCE VIRGO CONCIPIET” (“Behold! The virgin will conceive”, in Latin). This is a reference to two passages in the Bible, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament –
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”. [Isaiah 7:14].
“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him [Joseph] in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)'”. [Matthew 1:20-23]
Matthew considers the Isaiah passage to be a prophesy of the virgin birth of Jesus, which is why the inscription in St. Anne’s book is so important.
Saint Joachim was the husband of St. Anne, according to tradition and apocryphal literature. He was quite wealthy and was a conscientious jew, making frequent offerings to the synagogue. In the window he is seen carrying a staff and a basket of doves which symbolise peace.
Our Lady is standing on a cloud above two angels who are kneeling on another cloud. She has her left foot on the head of a green snake or serpent. Our Lady is often seen crushing the head of the serpent in pictures and statues. It comes from a vision that St. Catherine Labouré received in 1830.
This is the serpent that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. It is often portrayed, as above, with a red apple in its mouth but, in fact, the type of fruit is not mentioned in the bible –
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?'” [Genesis 3:1].
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” [Genesis 3:6].
In the Genesis story, the serpent represents evil or its personification, Satan. So the window shows Mary defeating evil.
Did you notice the peculiar faces to the left and right of Mary’s head and shoulders? Click on the image to enlarge it and you will see the faces more clearly. Who do you think they are? Notice, too, the beautiful golden robe that one of the angels is wearing. The banner below the two angels says, “Holy Mary pray for us”.
There are four small windows in the peaks of the four gables. This one, in the east gable, is the smallest of the four. It is difficult to see from inside the church as it is partially obscured by the roof woodwork and by its surrounding masonry. Here we have shown an inside and an outside view.
These are the main windows in the church. The central window is partially hidden by the pinnacle of the main altar. Three figures are shown in the windows. They are, from left to right, Saint Anne, Our Lady, and Saint Joachim.
In the image on the left we ask, “St Anne Pray For Us” and, on the right, “St Joachim Pray For Us”.
The dedication at the bottom of the window is shown in the following three images.
HE BUILT THE CHURCHES |
OF DUNHILL AND FENOR |
A.D. 1883 1894 |
Did you ever stop and look at the stained-glass windows in the church? Possibly not. It’s not something that we do unless we are particularly interested in stained glass, and many of us aren’t. Anyway, it’s not easy to get a good, close look at them. A pair of binoculars is useful but the arms get tired very quickly. A camera is the thing! Modern cameras are equipped with lots of pixels which means that they can capture lots of detail. When viewed on the screen of a television or a computer the images may be enlarged by “zooming in”. It is only then that the amazing colours and fine detail of the windows can be fully appreciated. Not even by perching on the window ledges can you see the windows as well as you can here.
We will begin with the main window in the east gable, above the altar, and then turn left through the north transept, the north wall of the nave, the south wall of the nave, the south transept and, finally, the west gable window above the main door. This is the order adopted in the menu opposite,
Before you set off to view the windows of Fenor church, you might like to look at the window below. It is a detail from a window in St. Carthage’s cathedral in Lismore, Co. Waterford, and shows three women at Jesus’ tomb after the resurrection. According to Luke’s gospel they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. Click the image to zoom in.
