The Convocation Hall Windows
at Osgoode Hall
© 2002 The Law Society of Upper Canada. All Rights Reserved.
The Stained Glass Windows
of Convocation Hall
The stained glass windows in Convocation Hall are
unique in the annals of heraldic stained glass. They
relate the development of Canadian Common Law
through heraldic design, imagery and colour.
The windows chronicle four millennia in a symbolic
vocabulary, each of the ten windows representing a
theme in the evolution of law: ancient law, the Inns
of Court, the law societies of Canada, English
heritage, Canadian heritage, legal education, The Law
Society of Upper Canada, and Canadian law.
The windows remind one of floating banners or
tapestries. Composites of historic and heraldic details
are set within a background of oblong panes, their
shape and proportions reflecting the neoclassical
architecture of Osgoode Hall.
The Convocation Hall Windows
at Osgoode Hall
Placque text
© 2002 The Law Society of Upper Canada. All Rights Reserved.
The stained glass windows in Convocation
Hall were commissioned by the Muniments
and Memorabilia Committee under the
leadership of Reginae M. Tait, Lay Bencher
and Chair of the of the Committee from 1979
to 1987.
The windows were designed and made by
Christopher Wallis FMGP and sponsored
by individuals and organizations associated
with the legal profession.
The Convocation Hall Windows
at Osgoode Hall
Ancient Law
Ancient Law is a composite of historical
iconography from the 2nd millennium BC to
the 9th century AD, from Sumerian law to
Charlemagne and the Frankish era. It includes
five hands representing patriarchal power; the
Code of Hammurabi engraved on a pillar of
black diorite; the star within a circle, the
symbol of Shamash the sun-god and God of
Law; the five scrolls of the Law of Moses;
Themis, the Goddess of Justice of Ancient
Greece; a golden solidus bearing the portrait
of Justinian I, the great law giver of Rome,
and the crown and arms of Charlemagne
(768-814), representing the evolution of the
Frankish laws of the 9th century AD.
The Inns of Court – Lincoln’s Inn and
Gray’s Inn
The arms and seals of the Inns occupy the
centre of the composition with the red Cross
of St. George as the background. At top
centre are the Arms of Edward the Confessor
(1042-1066), flanked by the Royal Arms of
Edward II (1307-1327) and Edward III (13271377), during whose reigns Lincoln’s and
Gray’s Inns were founded.
Below left, are the Royal Cipher of
Elizabeth I (1558-1603) and a goblet
recognizing the tradition in Gray’s Inn of
toasting Queen Elizabeth on every Grand
Day. On the right are the Cipher and badge of
Charles II (1660-1685), a member of Lincoln’s
Inn.
The Law Societies of Canada
The Badge of George III (1760-1820),
supported on either side by the Cross of St.
George, occupies the centre top of the
composition. Below, at the visual centre of
the composition, are the Arms of Canada. A
golden ribbon bearing the seals of the Law
Societies of Canada and their respective
provincial floral emblem flows around the
Arms of Canada. The last seal on the ribbon is
that of the Federation of Law Societies of
Canada. In the lower section is a rendering of
the Supreme Court of Canada Building in
Ottawa.
The Inns of Court – Inner Temple and
Middle Temple
The Arms of the Inner and Middle
Temples are set upon the red cross of the
Knights Templars, the crusading order
founded in the 12th century from whence both
Inns of Court took their name. The seal of
James I of England (1603-1625) records the
granting in 1608 of the Temple lands to the
Inns. Below is the badge of the Serjeants-atLaw.
The location of the Inns on the banks of
the River Thames in London is referred to by
the wavy blue and white bands at the base of
the cross. The green of the background
symbolizes the gardens for which the Inns are
famous.
English Heritage
English Heritage is presented as an
arrangement of regal insignia. Representations
of the royal crowns of rulers of England and
the United Kingdom from the 10th century to
the present are displayed within an
architectural setting of Anglo-Saxon arches.
The central motif is the scroll of the
Magna Carta of 1215 supported by lions from
the Coat of Arms of Richard I (1189-1199).
The top border contains the royal Crown of
Elizabeth II with two bishop’s mitres at its
left and right. The lower border is decorated
with an Anglo-Saxon motif.
Canadian Heritage
Canadian Heritage is a composite of
heraldic imagery from historic flags - the three
lions, the fleurs-de-lis and the stars and stripes
- representing the English, French and
American influences on our justice system.
The green maple leaf border records the
leaf’s long history as the emblem of Canada.
The red maple leaves acknowledge its choice
as the chief heraldic device of the National
Flag by Parliament in 1964. The flag at the top
of the composition is the Union Flag flown in
Canada after the Treaty of Paris of 1763 with
the royal cipher of the period at its centre.
The current Canadian Flag closes the design.
Legal Education
Western Canada
–
Atlantic
and
The coats of arms of law schools from
Atlantic and Western Canada are set against a
patterned background with a border bearing
the maple leaf.
Centre top: University of British Columbia
Second Row, left to right: University of Calgary,
University of Manitoba
Centre Row, left to right: Université de
Moncton, Dalhousie Law School, and
University of New Brunswick
Fourth Row, left to right: University of Alberta,
University of Saskatchewan
Central Base: University of Victoria
The floral emblems of the provinces can
be seen in the side borders against the red and
white of the Canadian Flag.
The Law Society of Upper Canada
Set upon the Union Flag (Union Jack) of
the 1800s are the Arms of the Law Society of
Upper Canada, supported by the Provincial
Arms of Ontario (upper left corner), the 19th
century Arms of the County of York (upper
right), the Arms of Osgoode Hall Law School
(lower left), and those of pre-amalgamation
Toronto (lower right).
The seal of the Society can be seen in the
base of the composition. A rendering of
Osgoode Hall in 1854, based on an engraving
of the period, appears behind it. The cap
badge of the Canadian Officers Training
Corps, Osgoode Hall Contingent, is also
represented.
Legal Education – Central Canada
The common law faculties of Ontario and
Québec are represented by the following coats
of arms:
Top, left to right: Université d’Ottawa /
University of Ottawa, University of Windsor
Centre, left to right: University of Toronto,
Osgoode Hall Law School of York University,
and Queen’s University
Bottom, left to right: University of Western
Ontario, McGill University
They are set against a green band,
symbolizing youth and growth. The checkered
background of violet and silver bears the
provincial floral emblems of Ontario and
Québec and the Scales of Justice.
Canadian Law
The British legacy to the Canadian legal
structure is acknowledged through the arms
of Richard I, the Great Seal of King John, the
arms of the See of Canterbury, the arms of
Edward the Confessor and a depiction of
Westminster Hall.
The Canadian collage includes the Union
Jack and the Canadian Flag united by the
Centre Block of Parliament Hill. The Great
Seal of Canada is in the centre. The cipher
and crown of Elizabeth II and the Mace of
the Senate of Canada can be seen below. The
collage rests on a stylized landscape which
symbolizes the land and two wampum belts
which acknowledge Indigenous Peoples as the
first law-makers of Canada.
© 2002 The Law Society of Upper Canada. All Rights Reserved.