The Cathedral Church of Canterbury [2nd ed.]: A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Archiepiscopal SeeWithers, Hartley
History
The Cathedral Church of Canterbury [2nd ed.]: A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Archiepiscopal See
Withers, Hartley
Canterbury Cathedral
The window towards the east on the north side of the shrine is divided
into geometrical figures, each figure composed of a group of fine
medallions; every group tells the story of a miracle, or series of
miracles, performed by the influence of the saint. The lower group
portrays the story of a child who was drowned in the Medway, and
afterwards restored to life by the efficacy of the saint's blood mixed
with water. The first medallion shows the boy falling into the stream,
while his companions pelt the frogs in the reeds by the river side; the
next shows the companions relating the story of the accident to the boy's
parents, and in the third we see the grief-stricken parents watching their
son's corpse being drawn out of the river. "The landscape in these
medallions is exceedingly well rendered; the trees are depicted with
great grace" (Austin). Unfortunately the medallions which complete this
story have been destroyed. The next group depicts the quaint story of a
succession of miracles which were wrought in the family of a knight called
Jordan, son of Eisult. His ten year old boy died, and the knight, who had
been an intimate friend of Becket in his lifetime, resolved to try to
restore his son with water mixed with the saint's blood. At the third
draught, as Benedict tells the story, the dead boy "opened one eye, and
said, 'Why are you weeping, father? Why are you crying, lady? The blessed
martyr, Thomas, has restored me to you!' At evening he sat up, ate,
talked, and was restored." But the father forgot the vow which he made in
the first moment of joy at his son's recovery, namely, that he would offer
four silver pieces at the martyr's shrine before Mid Lent. And once more
all the household was stricken with sickness, and the eldest son died.
Then the parents, though sore smitten themselves, dragged themselves to
Canterbury and performed their vow. The whole of this story with other
details for which we have no space may be accurately traced on this unique
window. The most striking is the central medallion of the group in which
the vengeance of the saint is shown forth. In the middle of a large room
we see a bier on which lies the dead son; the father and mother, overcome
with despair, stand at the head and feet of the body. Behind the bier are
several figures, which, from their "unusually violent attitudes expressive
of grief," Mr. Austin considered to be professional mourners. Above,
unseen by the group below, the figure of St. Thomas, clad in full
episcopal robes, holding a sword in his right hand, and pointing to
the corpse with his left, is seen appearing through the ceiling. "The
expression," says Austin, "of the various figures in the above
compartments, both in gesture and feature, is rendered with great skill.
In the execution of this story, the points which, doubtless, the artists
of the monastery were chiefly anxious to impress upon the minds of the
devotees who thronged to the shrine are prominently brought out: the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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