Abstract
A great window full of colourful fifteenth century glass illuminates the north transept of Le Mans cathedral. The rose at the top is filled with figures of God the Father, the Son, the Virgin and four evangelist symbols surrounded by angels. Below stand the Apostles, St René, bishop of Angers and St Louis, king of France. The bottom line of worthies reveals the programme of the whole window: amongst local prelates members of the Angevin family kneel in prayer. Louis I of Anjou, his wife Marie of Blois, their son king Louis II, his wife Yolande of Aragon and John II, duke of Bourbon, the brother-in-law of René’s son John, are identified by their arms. It is a powerful testimony to the image and values that the dynasty chose to portray.1 They shared a strongly held faith combined with the assertion of their ownership of French lands and their claim to the crowns of Naples and Jerusalem (Illustrations 1 and 2).
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Notes
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© 2008 Margaret L. Kekewich
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Kekewich, M.L. (2008). Introduction: ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Kings. In: The Good King. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230582217_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230582217_1
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