Panel of clear, coloured and flashed glass with painted details and yellow (silver) stain. Depicting Geldolph de Nausnydere and his patron Saint Geldulph. Made in the Netherlands, 1526

Panel, stained glass, Geldulph de Nausnydere in prayer with his patron St. Geldulph standing behind him, whose shield displays the arms of Burgundy Ancient quartered with cleves. Outside the window a stag hunt is in progress. Behind the saint there is the legend:- SCTE GELDULPHE ORA PRO, while the inscription at the foot of the panel relates to the burial of the Virgin in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Geldulph de Nausnydere, whose name is contained within the scrolls in the spandrels, was echevin of Lourain in 1517 and 1525.

Had been bought by Sir Peter Neave in the marketplace in Rouen in about 1820 and were thought at that time to have come from an old church in Rouen.
The pendant to this panel, showing his wife Martha de Nausnydere, is now in St Mary’s Church in Shrewsbury, and is dated 1526. The panels probably originally flanked a panel with the Virgin and Child with St Anne, Joseph and Joachim now in Earsham Church on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. It is likely that the panels were originally placed in one of the south chapel windows of the church of the Charterhouse of Louvain. The long inscription at the bottom of the panel is an intrusion from a different scene.

Stained glass windows could be very expensive to produce. A church wishing to glaze its windows with elaborately painted glass would have to seek sponsorship. In large cathedrals, wealthy ecclesiastics or members of royal families would often supply the necessary funds. Smaller institutions would have to seek financial assistance from well-off members of their communities. The people who contributed these funds are known as 'donors' and if they are depicted in the window they financed, as in this example, those windows are known as 'donor windows'.

Donors may or may not have had a say in the subject matter of the windows they contributed to. Often, the subjects, or themes, would have been determined by the needs of the church but the donor could request that he or she be depicted somewhere in the scheme and be accompanied by their patron saint, as we see in this panel.

The donor in this panel is Geldulph de Nausnydere who was alderman of Louvain (Leuven) in 1517 and 1524. This panel was placed at the base of a window, possibly in a the south chapel of the Charterhouse of Louvain. The Charterhouse in Louvain was a monastery of the Carthusian Order founded at the end of the 15th century by the Dukes of Burgundy. It was financed with donations from the ducal family members as well as from clerics of the surrounding areas and local residents.

Stained-glass windows could be very expensive to produce. A church wishing to glaze its windows with elaborately painted glass would have to seek sponsorship. In large cathedrals, wealthy ecclesiastics or members of royal families would often supply the necessary funds. Smaller institutions would have to seek financial assistance from well-off members of their communities. The people who contributed these funds are known as 'donors'. If they are depicted in the window they financed, as in this example, the windows are known as 'donor windows'.

Donors may or may not have had a say in the subject matter of the windows they contributed to. Often, the subjects, or themes, would have been determined by the needs of the church, but donors could request that they be depicted somewhere in the scheme, accompanied by their patron saint, as we see in this panel.

The donor in this panel is Geldulph de Nausnydere, who was alderman of Louvain (Leuven) in 1517 and 1524. It was placed at the base of a window, possibly in the south chapel of the Charterhouse of Louvain, which was a monastery of the Carthusian Order. The Charterhouse was founded at the end of the 15th century [DG13]by the dukes of Burgundy. It was financed with donations from ducal family members, as well as from clerics of the surrounding areas and local residents.

211-1908