Centre de la Culture
du Limousin Médiéval
Stain glasses
All the stain-glasses of the collegial church of Eymoutiers are among the best conserved in Limousin. They include 16 glass walls from the 15th century which have been sealed in the gothic architecture of this part of the church. Dated back to 1460-1465 they have a similar composition: 2 trefoil lancets topped by an open tympanum, characters represented at the bottom in an architectural décor of Damascus. They had been restored since the end of the 19th century.
This whole of glass walls is unique in Limousin, even beyond. We can recognize many characters such as the main saints like Etienne the patron saint of this collegial church or the Virgin, and also local saints like Psalmet, known to have been the legendary evangelizer of the region of Eymoutiers.
The cisterciens stain glasses of Aubazine Church
The number of remained Cistercian stain-glasses is extremely reduced. The Cistercians made the choice of sobriety and austerity in the decoration and that pushed them to look after the perfect abstract estheticism.
The Cistercian church of Obazine conserves four of its stain-glasses grayed out. One of them is in the occidental bay of the north transept; the three others are in the lateral wall north of the nave with bays of three remained spans. Each bay proposes a different drawing made with palmette motifs, circles, interlacing or lattice works, surrounded by a meticulous frame and to a background of palmettes. It is a testimony of a huge control of the representation of interlacing and cordage.
