Abstract

The legend of Theophilus the penitent is a frequent subject in thirteenth-century stained glass windows. Although neither the story nor its illustration were inventions of the Gothic period, both reached a peak of popularity at that time. Theophilus became the subject of poems and plays as well as sermons, and was featured in manuscript illustrations and in architectual decoration, both sculpture and stained glass. The increasingly frequent illustration of the legend was matched by an increase in the number of scenes devoted to its depiction, especially in manuscripts and stained glass. Yet not since Alfred Freyer's rather cursory catalogue of illustrations of the Theophilus legend in medieval art has there been any attempt to coordinate and interpret the rich evidence provided by this narrative efflorescence