Guilds and More Guilds

The next window we're going to look at in our heraldic tour of the Cathedral of Our Lady is sometimes called "The Historic Window of the City of Antwerp." It is more properly called "Our Lady at the Stake" and was donated in 1878 by a prominent family that wished to remain anonymous. The legendary Our Lady at the stake can be recognized by the tree trunk (‘stake’) that bears the medieval statue of Mary.

At the peak of the window in the tracery we find: the Margraviate of Antwerp and the Dean of the Cathedral; below them we see the Margraviate of Antwerp and the Diocese of Antwerp; and below them a number of others, both civic and religious. 

Finally, framing the central scene are the arms, two by two, of a number of guilds, brotherhoods, and crafts, including, Capittel van O.L.V. (Onze-lieve-vrouwe = Our Lady), the Smiths, the Shipwrights, the Bakers, the Candlemakers, the Sawyers, the Barbers, the Coopers, and many more.

See how many you can recognize! (As always, you can click on an image above to see a larger, more detailed view, where you can also double-check to see if you guesses were correct!)