Editorial

Welcome to October’s edition of Vidimus, we hope it finds you safe and well!

In our main feature this issue, Joseph Spooner and John Conradi delve into the history of a fascinating ensemble of seventeenth- and nineteenth-century glass at St Luke’s, Charlton, tracing the original arrangements of the glass and the broad familial networks it represented.

Our two other features both have a topical focus, relating to losses of stained glass that sadly occurred this summer. Françoise Gatouillat discusses the unusual iconography of the West window of Nantes Cathedral, which was destroyed by fire in July. Her article is published both in translation and the original French. The translation costs have been funded by donations from generous readers, to whom we are very grateful. We hope to repeat this feature in future issues, and we warmly encourage proposals for dual language articles.

Doubtlessly, readers will also be aware of the explosion that devastated Beirut, and may have read articles about local master glazier Maya Husseini. We have a short feature from Mylène Vigneron, who interviewed Maya about her work and the impact of the explosion.

This issue’s News opens with a heartfelt tribute to Paul Sharpling, who sadly passed away in July.

We also have exciting news of two digital resources that have been launched this year – the website of the German Corpus Vitrearum, and the Explore York Images website, as well as an appeal for information about some intriguing fifteenth-century quarries.

We are delighted to report that The Stained Glass Museum has received financial support from the Cultural Recovery Fund to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 and is currently accepting applications for the part-time role of Learning & Community Engagement Officer.

We have reviews of The Saints of Magdalene Church, published to raise funds for the conservation of the stunning fifteenth-century glass, and the wonderful Pepper for Prayer: The Correspondence of the Birgittine Nun Katerina Lemmel, 1516–1525, as well as notices of several recent publications that should not be missed.

As restrictions tighten, we include another Lockdown Online, which features a few of our favourite online resources, exhibitions and events, and welcome suggestions from readers.

As always, we welcome submissions for articles, news and reviews, so please do get in touch if you have something you’d like to submit for a forthcoming issue.

Vidimus wishes all of its readers good health and happiness over the coming festive season.

Katie Harrison, Editor

October 2020