In search of the magic colour

This is the end of the 15^th century.

Balthazar is a young master glassmaker in the city of Troyes. He has been commissioned by civil and religious people from the great bourgeoisie of Troyes to create new stained-glass windows full of shimmering, brilliant colours to decorate the nave of the cathedral “St Pierre St Paul” in Troyes.

But the unfortunate man has not yet found the recipe that will bring all the extra colour to these huge windows and increase the magnificence of this prestigious building tenfold.

However, he knows that there is a “miracle” product which, in the kitchen of the workshops, comes in a multitude of shades and which, by reacting with the colours of the glass, adds an almost magical touch to the glassmaker’s palette, making these stained-glass windows a beautiful explosion of colour.

To help him out in his quest, you will need to go to different religious buildings in the city, which will be indicated to you as you go along.

Answer the 14 riddles on the stained-glass windows of the churches of Troyes.

You can do some research on Google if you need a bit of help.

For each correct answer to a riddle, you will be given a letter of the word there is to discover. You will have to transfer the letter to the corresponding box on the final grid. Make sure to take a paper and a pen or to use the notepad on your phone to write the letters down carefully.

Doing so, at the end of the game, you will find the name of the magic product that will enable Balthazar to create the most flamboyant stained-glass windows and make the cathedral of Troyes… a temple of light!

Built in the early 13^th century and completed in the 17^th century, the St-Pierre-St-Paul Cathedral is a Bible made of glass. Indeed, it is composed of 1500 m2 of classified stained-glass windows and the entire history of stained-glass from the 13^th to the 19^th century is represented here.

Enter the cathedral and go towards the first radiating chapel, from the left, around the choir.

First radiating chapel, from the left, around the choir.

Its construction started at the end of the 13^th century on the initiative of the Pope Urban IV, who was from Troyes. It was finally completed at the very beginning of the 20^th century with its western porch.

It is a true masterpiece of the radiant Gothic style, characterised by the majestic roses of cathedrals.

All the windows in the choir, the eastern bays of the transept, those above the side doors and many of the “grisailles” (this is how the stained-glass windows in shades of grey with geometric motifs are called) in the side chapels date from the last quarter of the 13^th century. The high windows in the nave and those on the southern façade date from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

The stained-glass windows in the choir of the basilica were made in 1270 and form a real glass wall. The upper part of the windows is made up of large figures, either in front or in profile, arranged in the form of a “litre”, which means these tall, coloured representations of prophets and patriarchs outlined in “grisailles” with coloured fillets and surrounded by wide borders with motifs decorated with coats of arms. This is designed this way all around the building.

The left-hand window – North side of the transept

The windows of the north transept were installed in 1891. Together with those opposite in the south transept, they represent the series of the twelve apostles.

In the left-hand stained-glass window, three of the apostles are represented: St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Andrew.

In order to identify the saints in their religious representations, individual characteristics were attributed to them: physical details, animals or the subject of their martyrdom…

Thus, St Peter can be identified by the keys to paradise that he carries, St. Andrew by the X-shaped cross on which he was martyred, St. Luke by a lion and St. Roch by a dog…

The Church of St. Magdalene is the oldest church in the town, with its nave and transept dating from the middle of the 12^th century. It is renowned for its rood screen, an incredible flamboyant Gothic stone lacework from the beginning of the 16^th century, which used to separate the nave reserved for parishioners from the choir reserved for the clergy.

The choir also has magnificent stained-glass windows from the 16^th century Champagne glass painting school.

Donated in 1507 by Simon Liboron, a lawyer and King’s prosecutor, and his wife Henriette Mauroy, this stained-glass window is dedicated to the like of Saint Louis, except for a section dedicated to Saint Yves, patron saint of lawyers. The donors are represented in the lower left-hand corner of the window.

The different parts of this window each depict an episode of the life of Saint Louis, such as his wedding with Marguerite de Provence, the Charity of Saint Louis, the visit to the plague victims…

This stained-glass window, dating from the beginning of the 16^th century, retraces in the first 8 panels from the bottom, from left to right, the different stages of creation according to the biblical account of Genesis.

This stained-glass window, dating from 1506, was donated to the parish by the goldsmiths’ guild of Troyes, which was very important at that time. Their coat of arm is represented at the bottom left corner.

Organised in superimposed panels composed of small scenes, this stained-glass window illustrates the life of their patron saint: Eloi.

This stained-glass window was donated to the parish church of St. Magdalene in the early 16^th century. The theme of the family tree of Christ was widely represented at that time in southern Champagne. From the body of Jesse at the bottom of the window, a tree grows, which branches spread out over the whole. At the end of each branch is an ancestor of Christ.

Christ is shown in the arms of the Virgin Mary, in the last section, at the very top of the window.

In the middle is the musician King David.

In this late 15^th century stained-glass window, scenes from the Passion of Christ are depicted on all the upper panels and on the tympanum. The lower scenes represent the donors, Nicolas Le Muet, a merchant and his wife Catherine le Boucherat.

As its name suggests, this church, located in the former Champagne Fair district, was the parish of the merchants in the 12^th and 13^th century.

This stained-glass window tells the story of the legend of Solomon.

Two women each claimed to be the mother of a child. In order to find out the child’s true mother, King Solomon ordered the child to be killed. Therefore, the real mother could not help to burst into tears, while the other remained still.

This incomplete stained-glass window represents scenes from the martyrdom of St Agatha, whose Christian faith was exemplary.

Rebuilt in large part after the fire of 1524, the church of St Pantaleon presents several architectural styles: flamboyant gothic for certain bays, Renaissance, classical for the upper parts. Its barrel vault covered in chestnut wood reaches a height of 28 metres.

This large historiated stained-glass window was donated around 1540 by the Dorigny family, whose coat of arms appears on the tympanum. It represents the intervention of St James at the battle of Clavijo, when Ramire, the King of Spain, won over the Muslims he was fighting.

St James would have appeared on his white horse carrying a banner and fighting in the front row.

This stained-glass window depicting the story of Daniel is one of the oldest “grisailles” in Troyes. It dates from 1531 and was also donated by Pierre Dorigny and his wife Nicole Molé.

It tells the story of Daniel in three distinct episodes.

Thanks to you, Balthazar will be able to create his flamboyant stained-glass windows and turn the Cathedral of Troyes into a true temple of light!

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