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Are expressions of remorse by public figures steps toward healing, or are they acts of cathartic self-indulgence?

Anatomy of an Apology
Reflections on the 1997 presidential apology for the syphilis study at Tuskegee

A stained-glass apology and other reconciliations
Scholars of art history, literature, and psychology offer their viewpoints on the nature and meaning of "apology."

The full text of Lucas Carpenter's "Apology for an Apology"

The full text of the interview with Frans de Waal

The stained-glass window at the cathedral of Soissons.

Academic Exchange September 1999 Contents Page

In medieval art, it would be difficult to locate a subject that says "I'm sorry" in so many words. Generally, medieval art employs biblical subjects. These function on a straight-forward level as reminders of the sacred text, but may also allude, symbolically, to temporal events. Likewise, commentaries of the period quote the bible for emphasis and enlargement of the issues at hand. It was in just such a
spirit, for example, that Pope Innocent III wrote the Bishop of Paris complaining about King Philip Augustus's peremptory repudiation of his wife, Ingebourg of Denmark. The famines, fires and floods beseigingFrance were a 'flagellum Dei,' a scourge sent by God, to punish the peopleof the kingdom for Philip Augustus' behavior, explained the Pope. Bearingthese broad parameters of medieval art in mind, it is possible to view a stained glass window in Soissons Cathedral which dates to the early thirteenth century as expiation for the affair of King Philip Augustus and his third wife, Ingebourg.

The cathedral of Soissons is in northeastern France, 60 miles to the northeast of Paris. t was begun in 1176, following the gift of land by the cleric, Nivelon de Cherisy, who would become its bishop, one of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade, and the architect of Philip Augustus' official reconciliation with Ingebourg. Soissons Cathedral is a tall, 97 1/2 foot Gothic building contemporary with Chartres Cathedral, the kind of impressive physical structure that still dominates the surrounding landscape. Despite devastations by the Huguenots in the sixteenth century, a 37 -day seige by the Germans in 1870, and a radical "restoration" campaign in 1890, the structure is largely intact. Unfortunately, its decorative program has not fared as well; it has lost over 90% of its stained glass, and panels that were sold off during its restoration may be viewed in collections in Boston, Philadelphia, Kiev and Paris.

Remarkably, one of the windows that still preserves a fair portion of its original glazing is the central, 22' high, window in the upper level of the choir. The subject of this window is the Tree of Jesse, a kind of genealogical tree showing Jesus' descent from the kings of the Hebrew Bible, based on the prophecy in Isaiah 1:11. This window is unusual because Old Testament subjects are not often in such prominent positions, but rather they are generally placed on the darker northern side of cathedrals and are thereby contrasted to the more luminous Gospel scenes on the south side. Further, a document preserved in themartyrology of the cathedral lists a gift to the cathedral from King Philip Augustus of 30 pounds "for making the window in the center of our church," which is assumed to be the Tree of Jesse window. That a king might donate a Tree of Jesse window is understandable, the subject underscores the kind of sacred kingship the kings of France aspired to, but why King Philip Augustus would give a window to Soissons Cathedral and why the subject would be represented so prominently was not known. Moreover, this would be a substantial gift; in the early thirteenth century, a standard year's living for a cleric was 10 pounds.
Recently, the window has been interpreted as a kind of stained glass apology. Art historian Madeline Caviness pointed out that the window may well be connected with Philip Augustus' reconciliation with Ingebourg of Denmark. Pope Innocent III whose letter decrying the king's behavior was quoted above, put the churches of France under interdict in an effort to force the reuniting of Philip and his repudiated bride. Finally, a council in Soissons in 1201 brought about the queen's official reinstatement. As Caviness points out, the role played by Soissons in the affair, and the fact that the kingly Tree of Jesse is hemmed in by windows depicting to the left, the Last Judgment and to the right, the Fall from the Garden of Eden, would suggest that the window was an expiatory offering.

It is the location, expense, timing and context of the Tree of Jesse that argues for its connection to temporal events in the kingdom of France. Characteristic of medieval art, the window functions on several levels, as a biblical subject, as a royal allusion, and, as Caviness argues, a political commentary. The power of its statement would in fact be enhanced by the indirectness or allusive nature of its message: its shimmering beauty belies its practical functions (that is, both as a barrier to the elements, and as an apology), it would never become dated, and it could speak to beholders, including twentieth century viewers, on many levels.