"And He Shall Gather Together the Dispersed": The Tree of Jesse at Troyes Cathedral

Abstract

This study reviews the case for attributing a series of stained-glass panels now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to Troyes cathedral, attending to diverse kinds of evidence, including pre-restoration descriptions of the glazing, the content of the imagery, the physical condition of the glass, the style(s) of handling the paint, the historical circumstances that might have affected the glazing, and the placement of the glass within the building. While some factors, such as a tolerance for stylistic diversity, might make the attribution of any medieval object problematical, two are peculiar to glass studies: the fragility of the medium, and the often irrecuperable nature of the glazing program to which a given window contributed. Nonetheless, this study will show that the association of panels of prophets now in London with the Tree of Jesse window at Troyes cathedral is well founded.