20. St. Peter and Paul Church, East Harling, East window, Nativity, 1480. With no room left at the inn in Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to Jesus in humble quarters.  Surrounded by an ox and an ass, with hay at their feet, all look on in wonder at the radiant child lying in the manger.  The luminous glow of the baby Jesus is equally reflected in the face, hair, and halo of his mother, kneeling before him in admiration.  The magical bond between mother and child is clearly represented by this mirroring effect. Set directly below the guiding light of the star, the central figures of mother and child are flanked by Joseph, on the right, and two women, on the left.  Joseph, whose face has been lost, is the less curious of the two.  The women, poised with their hands folded in prayer, quite possibly represent midwives.  Second century legend postulates a midwife at the scene of the Nativity.  A bit later, two midwives named Zebel and Salome are proposed to have assisted the Virgin at the Nativity.  This window may have been constructed on the basis of this later theory.

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