Fun With Stained Glass in Temple Church, Part 1

Well, the book I ordered, Die Epitaphiern an der Frauenkirche zu München, has arrived, it's going to take me a few days to find the four heraldic memorials on the exterior of the cathedral in Munich (that Katie photographed for me) that I still have to identify in it, and then translate the text from the German, and then see if I can find blazons for the coats of arms on them (and if they are in Rietstap's Armorial Général, translating those from the French!).

In the meantime, though, I can't just leave you all wondering what's happened because you've had no blog posts from me in the meantime while I do all that, today and next time we are going to revisit the Temple Church in London and look at the arms in a couple of large stained glass windows there.

These windows are not those originally set in these openings, those having been pretty much destroyed during the Blitz and later V-1 and V-2 attacks on London during World War II.

For all that they are more recent replacements, though, they are each an impressive example of the work of the glaziers who created them. And they've got coats of arms in them, hence my sharing them with you here.

Today's window is this one here; see if you can find the five coats of arms and the one quasi-heraldic emblem in it. (As usual, you can click on the image below to see the full-size picture zoom in for the details of it.)

Did you see the arms?

In the left-hand light just below the top two figures, is the arms of the Knights Templars, for whom the Temple Church is named. They are blazoned Argent a cross paty gules.

Here's a close-up of those arms:

Opposite the Templar arms in the right-hand light is the arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, where the order had its beginnings. Those arms are blazoned: Argent a cross potent between four crosses couped or.

And here's a close-up of those arms:

Next, in the left-hand light below the central roundel showing St. Paul's Cathedral surrounded by flames (WWII again!) is a shield with the arms of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, Azure a Pegasus salient argent.

Matching it in the right-hand light is the arms of Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, Argent on a cross gules a Paschal lamb passant or maintaining a banner argent charged with a cross gules.

 And finally, in the center of the middle light just a little higher than the arms of the Inner and Middle Temples, we find the achievement of arms of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers, Argent two glazing-irons in saltire between four closing nails sable on a chief gules a demi-lion passant guardant or. The crest is A lion's head couped or between two wings expanded azure. And the supporters are Two naked boys each holding in his exterior hand a long torch inflamed proper.

So much for the heraldry. Did you find the emblem?

At the bottom of the right-hand light, we see an emblem of the Templars, two Knights Templar each bearing a shield of the arms of the Order on a single horse. This emblem is based on a tradition that they were so poor they rode two to a horse.

The emblem first appeared on the seal of Bertrand de Blanquefort, the order's sixth Grand Master, in 1158. It continued to be used by subsequent Grand Masters until the order's dissolution in 1312.

One common interpretation of the two knights on one horse is that it represents the early Templars' poverty. They were officially known as the "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon" and the symbol was seen as a reminder that they shared a single mount.

Another interpretation suggests that the symbol reflects the dual nature of the Templars, who were both monks and warriors. The single horse could represent the unification of these seemingly contrasting roles.

While the symbol might initially suggest poverty, it's important to note that the Templars' Rule did allow each knight to have three horses. So the emblem is more likely symbolic than literal.

There's an awful lot of history contained in this one window with three lights. I hope that you find it as awe-inspiring as I have!