Thursday, August 29, 2024

More Saints and "Just Plain Folks"


In our next two windows in York Minster we find some more saints along with the arms of some regular (if wealthy) people.


In this window, we have an image of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child.


Above her, we find the arms of Bryan, Azure three piles or.


And beneath her, we see the arms of Sir Charles Hayward or Heyward, Or on a chief azure a fret debruised by a heart or between two bees volant proper. You can learn a lot more about Sir Charles by way of his entry in Wikipedia at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_William_Hayward


The central figure in our next window is labeled as St. Oswald.


That said, the banner he is holding with his right hand bears the attributed arms associated with St. Edwin. (I would note, too, that Azure three crowns or is also attributed to King Arthur. That's the wonderful thing about attributing coats of arms to figures who lived before heraldry; you can invent just about anything you like for them!)


The arms above the figure of St. Oswald are in memory of Guy Cuthbert Dawnay, a Conservative politician and the fourth son of William Dawnay, 7th Viscount Downe. The arms are blazoned Argent on a bend cotised sable three annulets argent, but lack a martlet, the usual cadency difference for a fourth son. Guy Dawnay, who was killed at the age of 40 by a wounded buffalo in 1889 near Mombassa in East Africa, is also commemorated in the inscription at the bottom right corner of this window. He also has his own Wikipedia entry at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Dawnay_(politician), although that entry does not mention this memorial window in York Minster.

Once again, please take the time to really look at and appreciate the stained glass painter's skill in creating these two windows, in addition to the heraldry contained in them.

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