Miracles of Saint Nicholas

This stained glass window likely comes from the Collegiate Church of Saint-Étienne in Troyes. It depicts two miraculous episodes from the life of Saint Nicholas.

The art of stained glass, a privileged medium for illustrating the stories of saints, experienced remarkable development during the 12th and 13th centuries. This panel was found in the attics of Troyes Cathedral in the 19th century. It probably originated from the now-disappeared Collegiate Church of Saint-Étienne, a church that benefited from the protection and donations of the Counts of Champagne.

In the upper register, a Jewish man, before departing on a journey, entrusts his possessions to a statue of Saint Nicholas. These possessions are subsequently stolen but are restored through the intervention of the statue. This miracle leads to the conversion of the Jewish man.

In the lower register, the saint gives a purse to a father to provide dowries for his daughters and prevent him from forcing them into prostitution. This is the episode known as the Charity of Saint Nicholas.