The southern part of the transept has preserved a series of exceptional stained glass windows, called “Stained Glass Windows Of Privileges” (of the bishop and of the Chapter).

The lower part recounts a legend disseminated by the local religious authorities, according to which, the Merovingian King Chilperic II, one of the successors of Clovis, was thought to have given the Bishop and to the Chapter of Tournai, after several bloody episodes, the right to levy various taxes in the city. These pseudo-historic episodes are represented here in an anachronistic manner, in that the Merovingian characters are depicted in a context and dress that are entirely mediaeval.

The upper part of the stained glass windows shows those various taxes being collected in the City of Tournai. A canon, recognisable by his white vestment, ensures the collection of tax for crossing the bridge (1), of tax on the market stalls (2), of tax on drinks (beer (3) and wine (4)), of tax on the official weighing of bundles of wares (5) marked with the Municipality’s “emblem”. They are all “snapshots” that poignantly capture scenes of the everyday life of the City at the end of the Middle Ages, and of its commercial activities in particular. These stained glass windows date from the very beginning of the 16th century and are the oldest preserved in the cathedral.