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Giving drink to the thirsty
Unknown - Enlarge image
Giving drink to the thirsty
- Object:
Roundel
- Place of origin:
Coventry, England (made)
- Date:
ca. 1430-1440 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Stained glass
- Museum number:
C.56-1953
- Gallery location:
In Storage
At the centre of the composition stands a richly dressed merchant. He pours drink into the beakers of two beggars on the left, one of whom is a friar. He hands a drinking bowl to two others on the right. At the front a fifth beggar with bandaged legs crawls forward, using two crutches to support him. A small dog is tethered to his waist.
The roundel probably represents the second of the seven Corporal Works of Mercy. These were: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, visiting the prisoner and burying the dead. The Corporal Works of Mercy were depicted frequently in the late Middle Ages as exemplars of Christian behaviour. Images of this type in glass could be displayed in either a church or a guildhall, in a chapel or private hall.
