Stained Glass in Saint Paul’s
The Great East Window (1)
The Tree of Jesse
This design consists of three tiers of people in medieval costume who represent the family tree of Jesus.
In the centre of the bottom tier is Jesse himself, sitting on a throne.
On Jesse’s right hand is King David, holding his harp.
King Solomon stands on his other side, holding a model of the Temple.
In the centre of the top tier is the Virgin Mary, holding the baby Jesus.
All the other kings represent the ancestors of Jesus, although we cannot give them names.
Only the beardless king (Josiah?) in the top layer is individual as the other faces are used more than once, but with different coloured robes.
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