Vitreous Vitae

In Vitreous Vitae: St. Margaret of Antioch in Thirteenth-Century Stained Glass, Ashley J. Laverock considers the representation of the virgin martyr St. Margaret in thirteenth-century stained-glass windows in Europe. These windows appear at a moment when Margaret's cult was expanding but before the motif of the saint with the dragon was most prominent. They offer insight into the rich narrative potential of Margaret's life in a monumental medium seen by wide audiences. Examining these windows reveals not only shared emphases on Margaret's Imitatio Christi, corporeal suffering, and encounters with the dragon and demon, but also distinct site-specific hagiographies of Margaret tailored to each church's context and the multi-faceted Margarets that contributed to the wider cult of the saint.