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after 1386-before 1397 - 'duke Wilhelm I of Berg, west window' (Master of the Berswordt Altar), Altenberger Dom, Altenberg, Odenthal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Herzog Wilhelm I von Berg (ca. 1348-1408), kneeling before the Virgin, as a donor of the west window of the Altenberger Dom.

The west window of the Altenberger Dom is actually the largest medieval stained glass window in Germany, measuring 18 by 8 meters.

 

Duke Wilhelm wears a tight surcoat/jupon with long loose-fitting sleeves over a pourpoint with funnel cuffs. He probably also wears plate armour under the surcoat. Note the (mail?) collar with scalloped edges, the small shield with his coat-of-arms hung around the neck, the typical late 14th century very low worn hip belt (with sword and dagger), and the plate armour for the legs, hinged on both (!) sides.

 

The window is easy to date: it was made after 1386 (the year bishop Wikbold von Kulm commissioned the tracery for the window) and before 1397 (the year in which duke Wilhelm was imprisoned and became almost bankrupt).

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Uploaded on July 14, 2020
Taken on April 27, 2018