Look up the word ‘window’ in a dictionary and a typical definition might read: “An opening that is fitted with glass in a frame to admit light or air and allow people to see out.”

Yet a stained glass window does not conform to this definition; most stained glass windows are designed so that people cannot see outside and they function to control, rather than admit, light.

While people admiring stained glass windows cannot see the world outside, they can be transported to another world by looking at exotic, ornate designs incorporating images from the Bible as well as myths and legends.

Stained glass craft doesn’t just belong to the Middle Ages and the medieval era; it is art which has been, and still is, widely practiced today.

Modern stained glass windows are surprisingly similar to ones found in the early Christian churches of the 4^th and 5^th centuries. These windows are decorated with ornate patterns of finely-sliced alabaster set into wooden frames – a design which gave a stained-glass like effect.

The stained glass art form reached its pinnacle in the Middle Ages and drew heavily on Bible Stories for inspiration. During this time circular ‘wheel’ windows with stained glass became popular in France.

Later eras did not look as favourably on stained glass windows. Oliver Cromwell was certainly not a fan and when, in the 17^th century, he decreed that “abused images” (ones which encouraged worship) should be banned, many English stained glass windows were smashed by his supporters.

But when Catholicism again became England’s dominant faith in the early 19^th century, stained glass windows made a popular reappearance.

Famous English designers Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris spearheaded the stained glass revival. Burne-Jones’s stained glass designs adorn the windows of churches and cathedrals the length and breadth of England – including All Saints in Cambridge and Christ Church in Oxford. In North America, the windows in Trinity Church in Boston are a legacy to Burne-Jones’s flair for flamboyant art.

The Victorian era started to see stained glass appearing in domestic houses, frequently above doorways. Stained glass in public houses also became a common sight – the privacy afforded by stained glass, together with the mellow light it produces, makes it ideal for places of worship and places of drinking!

The destruction of churches throughout Europe during World War II resulted in much work for stained glass window craftsmen involved in painstaking restoration exercises.

American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was more interested in coming up with new designs rather than restoring old ones – his post-war championing of stained glass left a huge legacy in America.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Belorussian-French painter Marc Chagall reminded the world that Europe is the home of stained glass. Chagall came up with designs for many stained glass windows which feature his expressionist hallmark while retaining the tradition of packing stained glass windows with symbolic details.

If the US Stained Glass Association of America has anything to do with it, the future of stained glass windows looks assured. This 100-year-old organisation is dedicated to assuring the survival of stained glass craft and opposing any regulations which limit this splendid art form.

The British attachment to stained glass craft is just as strong. If any modern-day Oliver Cromwell attempts to have stained glass windows removed from our houses, pubs and places of worship they are sure to meet with plenty of resistance!

[Photo by Crowcombe Al]

Sources:

http://www.createstainedglass.com/stained-glass-history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stained_glass