Jan 26 2014

The second nave window

In this second window the main detail is of a cloth bearing an image of the face of Jesus. We know this cloth from the sixth Station of the Cross when “Veronica wipes the face of Jesus”. There is no historical evidence for Veronica’s merciful act – it is not mentioned in the four gospels – but devotion to Veronica (the person) and to The Veronica (the cloth and its image) has existed since the middle ages. There are several legends as to who the woman was – Martha of Bethany, or the woman with the issue of blood whom Jesus healed, or a woman called Berenike. Historical or not, we can still contemplate a horrible death and an act of compassion at the sixth station.

The dedication at the bottom of the window is shown in the image at far right and reads,

ERECTED BY MARGARET
MURPHY IN MEMORY OF HER

BELOVED HUSBAND
JOHN MURPHY

Jan 26 2014

The first nave window

The third image shows the main detail of the window – a bulrush. The bulrush plant is sometimes used as a sign for faithfulness and humility. It is also used as a symbol for deliverance and salvation because of Moses who became the deliverer of the Israelites and who, as a baby, was hidden in a bulrush basket –
“When she [Moses’ mother] could hide him [Moses] no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.” [Exodus 2:3].

However, the name bulrush can refer to several different plants, depending on where you come from. The plant shown in the window and known in Ireland as bulrush is Typha latifolia. This was not the plant of the Moses story which was probably Cyperus papyrus from which the Egyptians made their “paper”, baskets, and many other things.

The dedication at the bottom of the window is shown in the image at far right and reads,

ERECTED BY MISS KATE POWER BENVOY
COTTAGE IN MEMORY OF HER PARENTS
JOHN & CATHERINE POWER AND HER
BROTHER & SISTER JOHN AND ANNA POWER

Jan 26 2014

The South Nave Windows

The south side of the nave is the left side of the church looking at the altar, from the door of the porch as far as the front benches. There are five windows in the south wall of the nave and we have numbered them 1 to 5. Window number 1 is nearest to the altar and number 5 is next to the door of the porch.

Windows 6 to 10 are on the right side of the church looking at the altar (the north side of the nave) with number 6 next to the porch door and number 10 nearest to the altar. So if you stand in the nave facing the altar and turn to the left through a complete circle, you will see the nave windows in order from 1 to 10. The windows appear in the same order in the menu on the left.

The windows all have the same decorative features but in different colours. Each window has a different main detail in the centre of the window, such as that below left, but they are all connected with Christ’s passion – all except window number 1. At the bottom of each window there is a dedication such as that below right.

Jan 26 2014

The lattice window

We are at a loss to explain why there is a plain lattice window here when there is no matching window in the south transept. Was the original window broken? It brings to mind two lines from “The Spinning Wheel“.”Step up on the stool, through the lattice step lightly
We’ll rove through the grove while the moon’s shining brightly.”Or, if you prefer something biblical but just as romantic …”My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. [Song of Solomon 2:9]

Jan 26 2014

Saint John The Baptist’s window

John is barefoot and wearing simple clothes but seems to be missing his leather belt –
“Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist …” [Matthew 3:4].

The banner attached to John’s staff reads “ECCE AGNUS DEI !” (“Behold the lamb of God”, in Latin) –
“John was baptising people in the river Jordan when he saw Jesus and cried out, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'” [John 1:29].

The scallop shell at John’s left hip is a common symbol for baptism. It was and still is used in many places for pouring water over the head of the baptised person. It’s unlikely that John did this as he practiced total immersion. In his case, the shell is simply a reminder that he was the Baptist or Baptiser.

John has his hand and forefinger raised, ready to give out to the Pharises (and to us?) –
“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?'” [Matthew 3:7].

The JB monogram at the bottom of the window tells us that this is indeed John the Baptist, in case we hadn’t already guessed from the other clues.

Jan 26 2014

Saint Michael’s Window

St. Michael is depicted as a sword-carrying, winged warrior because he is an angel who has been engaged in many battles, some of which are described in the Book of Daniel and in Revelation. The image of his face on the right lacks any emotion – just what we might expect from one who carries a balance for weighing the souls of the dead. The bottom of the window, shown on the left, bears the monogram SM, for Saint Michael.

Would it be disrespectful to suggest that St. Michael appears to be wearing a rather fetching pair of bloomers? It looks that way but, in fact, he is wearing a long-sleeved, knee-length shirt under the breast plate and over the thigh armour.

Jan 26 2014

The South Transept Windows

In the south transept there are three windows. The two in the gable are of St. Michael the Archangel and St. John the Baptist. The third window, in the east wall of the transept, is a plain lattice window. There is no window in the west wall of the transept as that wall is also the wall of the sacristy.

The St. Michael and John Baptist windows were repaired and restored in 2011 and Colette Langan of Irish Stained Glass sent us some photos of the windows before, during, and after restoration. You can see her photos HERE.

Now take a look at the image below which comes from Morton Baptist Chapel in Lincolnshire, England. It shows Salome with the head of John the Baptist. King Herod looks quite pleased although the gospels have it otherwise –

“But an opportunity came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.’ And he vowed to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.’ And she went out and said to her mother, ‘For what should I ask?’ And she said, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.” [Mark 6:21-29].

Our own window of John the Baptist is not at all gruesome!

Jan 26 2014

Saint Joseph’s Window

Saint Joseph’s window

The Madonna Lily is often associated with Saint Joseph as well as Our Lady as, for example, in his statue inside the church (see the photo on the right). In the images above, however, the flowers are red and are growing from the top of St. Joseph’s staff or rod. The flowering of the staff is described in an apocryphal writing (The Birth of Mary According to James) in which Mary’s future spouse is chosen. Joseph’s staff bursts into lily flowers as a sign that he is the chosen one. The red flower that gardeners call St. Joseph’s Lily is not a lily at all but is a variety of amaryllis or hippeastrum (Hippeastrum x johnsonii) that was hybridised around 1800 A.D. in England.

In Church tradition, Joseph is much older than Mary, and he looks rather elderly in the window images. He doesn’t look so old in the statue image but, then, Mary was barely into her teens when Jesus was born.

The window image on the right shows the monogram SJ which stands for Saint Joseph.

Jan 26 2014

Our Lady’s window

The first two images show Our Lady carrying a stem of lilies, the symbol of purity. Lilies have long been associated with Mary and are, perhaps, the most common Marian symbol. This particular lily is the Madonna Lily (Lilium Candidum) which is native to the Balkans and West Asia. In summer it produces fragrant white flowers which are yellow at the base. Also associated with Our Lady is the Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis), but that’s a different plant altogether.

In the image on the right is a monogram comprising the intertwined letters A and M which stand for “Ave Maria” (Hail Mary, in Latin). Unfortunately, the very bottom of the window, including the bottom half of the monogram, is partially blurred by protective glazing.

Jan 26 2014

The Sacred Heart Window

The Sacred Heart window

The image on the right is of the bottom of the Sacred Heart window, taken through a gap in the pinnacle of the altar – it’s the only way to photograph it without a ladder! It bears a monogram comprising the intertwined letters I, H, and S. IHS is a type of Christogram – a combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ and traditionally used as a Christian symbol.

The first three letters of the name Jesus (in Greek) are iota, eta, and sigma These are the 9th, 7th, and 18th letters of the Greek alphabet, respectively. In Greek capital letters they are written as I, H, and Σ. The first two have been adopted as the I and H of the English alphabet. The Σ is equivalent to the English letter S and has the same sound.

In short, then, IHS represents the first three letters of the Greek version of the name Jesus. At least, that’s how it started out. Later, IHS was taken to mean Iesus Hominum Salvator (“Jesus, Saviour of men” in Latin) or “I Have Suffered”.

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Dunhill & Fenor Parish Website

Category Stained Glass Windows

The second nave window