Process and Patronage in the Decorative Arts of the Early Campaigns of Troyes Cathedral, ca. 1200-1220s

Abstract

A methodology that exploits all aspects of the building program of Troyes Cathedral is here employed to reveal more about the cathedral's early history. Little-known grisailles from the early campaigns are differentiated from each other and dated in relation to the figural windows, and thus confirm the existence of separate campaigns in ca. 1200 and ca. 1210-20s. In particular, the characterization of the first campaign as regional in nature and the second campaign as drawing on new Parisian sources, is upheld by the analysis of the stained glass. In addition, the interior choir statue cycle is compared with other examples in the region. While interior statuary is shown to be widespread, there is no precise analogy for the eight bishops represented in the hemicycle of Troyes Cathedral. The bishops are here interpreted as evidence of the ascendancy of the church in the changing political climate of the early thirteenth century in Troyes.