ABSTRACT An Examination of Women’s Piety as Depicted in Medieval and Early Modern Stained Glass Annelise A. Henley, M.A. Mentor: Beth Allison Barr, Ph.D. This thesis explores the impact of gender and religious piety on expressions of women’s agency in Late Medieval and Early Modern England. Chapter One introduces Oxfordshire stained glass as the area of inquiry, with the Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (CVMA) database serving as the primary source reference. Both the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York and the British Academy collaborate on this database. The next three chapters investigate portrayals of donors, biblical figures, and non-biblical figures. Each chapter demonstrates that depictions of women and men generally remain uniform across time. That said, the chapters also show that depictions of women changed in ways that images of men did not. Changes reveal that gender forced Late Medieval and Early Modern women to be creative with their religious expressions, while piety provided women an internalized outlet to express their agency within the church. An Examination of Women's Piety as Depicted in Medieval and Early Modern Stained Glass by Annelise A. Henley, B.A. A Thesis Approved by the Department of History Kimberly R. Kellison, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Thesis Committee Beth Allison Barr, Ph.D., Chairperson Joseph Stubenrauch, Ph.D. Christopher Rios, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School August 2016 J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2016 by Annelise A. Henley All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. x DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Stained Glass as a Subject of Inquiry ......................................................................... 1 Sources ........................................................................................................................ 4 The Glass and its Historical Context ........................................................................ 12 Categories and Purpose ............................................................................................ 16 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................. 23 Lay Piety in Oxfordshire as depicted in Stained Glass Donor Portraits ....................... 23 Introduction............................................................................................................... 23 Donor Windows in Oxfordshire ................................................................................ 25 Donors and Piety ...................................................................................................... 45 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 48 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................... 49 Same Stories, Different Lessons: Depictions of Biblical Women in Oxfordshire Stained Glass, 1250-1529 ............................................................................................. 49 Introduction............................................................................................................... 49 Overview of Biblical Women in Oxfordshire Stained Glass ..................................... 50 The Virgin Mary ........................................................................................................ 51 Saint Anne, Mary Magdalen, and Other Biblical Women ........................................ 76 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 87 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................. 88 Violence, Gender, and the Function of Non-biblical Saints in the Medieval Church .. 88 Introduction............................................................................................................... 88 Dragon Killers: Gender and Physical Power ........................................................... 90 iv Gender in Narrative Windows ................................................................................ 108 Fluctuating Fame: Popularity of Non-Biblical Saints across Centuries ................ 122 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 125 CHAPTER FIVE ............................................................................................................ 127 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 127 Women and Gender in Oxfordshire Stained Glass ................................................. 127 Looking Forward .................................................................................................... 129 APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................. 132 Tables of Stained Glass Figures in Oxfordshire ......................................................... 132 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 150 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1. Male and female figures in Oxfordshire stained glass ....................................19 Figure 1.2. Male biblical, non-biblical, and donor figures in Oxfordshire ........................20 Figure 1.3. Female biblical, non-biblical, and donor figures in Oxfordshire. ...................20 Figure 2.1. Merton College, Henry de Mamesfield ...........................................................26 Figure 2.2. Dorchester, Radulphus de Tiave......................................................................29 Figure 2.3. Newington, Donor Priest .................................................................................32 Figure 2.4. Balliol College, Lady Compton .......................................................................35 Figure 2.5. Balliol College, William Compton .................................................................36 Figure 2.6. Waterperry, Anonymous Woman ....................................................................39 Figure 2.7. Waterperry, Anonymous Man .........................................................................39 Figure 2.8. Waterperry, Fitz-Ellis ......................................................................................40 Figure 2.9. Waterperry, Margaret Fitz-Ellis ......................................................................41 Figure 2.10. Waterperry, Isobel Curzon ............................................................................42 Figure 2.11. Waterperry, Walter Curzon ...........................................................................43 Figure 3.1. St Michael’s Church, Virgin and Child ...........................................................53 Figure 3.2. Dorchester, Annunciation ................................................................................54 Figure 3.3. Dorchester, Virgin and Child ..........................................................................56 Figure 3.4. Stanton, St John, Funeral of the Virgin ...........................................................57 Figure 3.5. Stanton, St John, Detail of the Funeral of the Virgin ......................................58 Figure 3.6. Beckley, Assumption of the Virgin .................................................................60 vi Figure 3.7. Beckley, Assumption of the Virgin .................................................................61 Figure 3.8. Beckley, Coronation of the Virgin ..................................................................62 Figure 3.9. New College, Virgin at the Crucifixion ..........................................................63 Figure 3.10. Brightwell Baldwin, Annunciation ................................................................65 Figure 3.11. Combe, Virgin in Majesty .............................................................................66 Figure 3.12. All Souls College, Virgin and Child..............................................................67 Figure 3.13. Marsh Baldon, Virgin at the Crucifixion .......................................................68 Figure 3.14. Balliol College, Virgin and Child ..................................................................71 Figure 3.15. Waterperry, Virgin and Child ........................................................................72 Figure 3.16. Marsh Baldon, Saint Anne ............................................................................77