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Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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MSGC : Collections : Window

Window

Building Name: St. James Episcopal Church

Studio Name: Lamb (J. and R.) Co.

City: Birmingham

Window Shape: 2 (rectangle)

Subject/Title of Window: Blessed are the Merciful --- St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Brief Description of Subject: This is the last of the six aisle windows that use a saint to illustrate one of the Beatitudes. The fifth Beatitude is "Blessed are the merciful: For they shall obtain mercy" Matthew 5:7 KJV. For this window, St. Elizabeth of Hungary has been chosen to illustrate this Beatitude.
 
St. Elizabeth (1207 - 1231) was born a princess as she was the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary. At age seven she was promised in marriage to Louis IV, the Landgrave of Thuringia. Marriages of royals were a matter of forming or cementing family relationships. The marriage took place in 1221. Her life was devoted to God, her husband, and helping the poor. In 1227, her husband died on his way to join the Crusades. She admired the Franciscan's and remained a widow for the rest of her life as she took the Vow of Chastity. She went on to build and run a hospital in Marburg. Elizabeth died in 1231 and was canonized a saint shortly afterwards. She is best known today for the "Miracle of the Roses." --- The story goes that she was secretly taking bread to the poor when she was confronted by her brother-in-law who thought she was stealing from the treasury and demanded to see what was hidden under her cloak; when she opened her cloak there was nothing but roses.
 
St. Elizabeth is shown dressed as royalty and wearing a crown. In her hands is a plate of bread loafs partly hidden with a white cloth. The roses seen at her feet allude to the Miracle of Roses. To the right is the Pressburg Castle where she grew up. In the predella are three crowns which refer to her birth as a princess, her piety and acts of charity, and her keeping her vow of chastity. The border is decorated with sheaves of wheat alluding to the bread she gave to the poor.
 
The signature of the maker appears on the bottom right as "J & R Lamb Studios."

Inscriptions: Saint Elizabeth
Blessed Are the Merciful For They Shall Obtain Mercy
J & R Lamb Studios


Height: 57"

Width: 37"

Type of Glass and Technique: Antique or Cathedral Glass

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