Stained Glass Windows

It is unknown what window was the very first types of stained glass window creations. The art of stained glass was perfected for jewellery, glassware and perfume flasks during the time of the Egyptian pharaohs. Perhaps an imaginative clergyman or a devout jewellery maker then was inspired to make a scene to glory God using glass as a canvass.

 

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It is known that stained glass windows were being made in Europe during the 10th and 11th centuries, AD. Glass factories were already a thriving business. In order to get the particular colors needed, workers and artists needed to all bits of metal to the hot melted glass.

 

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The Medieval Period

Stained glass window creations in churches or the private chapels of devout and rich families flowered during the Medieval times in the 13th and 14th centuries. At this time, the only branch of Christianity was Catholicism. The common worshipper could not read and did not have access to books – even the Bible. In order to help teach Biblical stories, churches and cathedrals made Biblical scenes all along the windows in vivid stained glass.

The most detailed of stained glass windows is generally considered to be a window called "The Poor Man's Bible" at Canterbury Cathedral in the county or Kent in England. It is the oldest cathedral in England that has survived mostly intact. "The Poor Man's Bible" is a few hundred years younger than the cathedral, but is thought to have been installed in the 13th century. There were originally twelve stained glass windows but now only two survives. They display over forty Biblical stories.

 

The Protestant Reformation

Stained glass windows were part of the reason why the Protestant Reformation ignited in the late 1400's. Martin Luther viewed them as gaudy trappings that did not serve to help Christians but only the Church hierarchy. Luther had lots of other problems with the Catholic Church, not just the view from the windows.

 

Since the Protestant Reformation, many cathedrals have not survived because they were targets of hatred by anti-Catholics. England lost many of their windows and churches whenever Catholicism fell out of favour. Now the windows and the cathedrals are considered historical and cultural landmarks and are preserved for posterity and for hoards of admiring tourists.

 

Revitalization

In the 1800's, Europe fell back in love with stained glass windows. The look and style seen on church windows could be found on lamps, doors to homes or even on churches. Again, factories as well as individual artisans were making large glass panes with scenes from nature as well as from the Bible. When abstract art became fashionable, then the windows held unfamiliar yet balanced and elegant patterns.

 

America also got in on the action and many churches and homes of the wealthy included a stained glass window of some sort. They did not have to have the classic arch topped rectangular shape of many church windows, but came in circles, squares, triangles and just about any shape the artist could fit into a frame.

 

Today, stained glass windows can be found in schools, churches, public buildings and museums all around the world. This is an art form that refuses to die.