Medieval Stained Glass Pattern Work

Illustration: Stained glass window pattern from Lincoln Cathedral.

It is sometimes tempting to think that all ecclesiastical stained glass design work tells a figurative story. However, a considerable sum of stained glass production over the centuries has been of a non-figurative pattern type, a style for which the medium is aptly suited. Although a fair proportion of this abstract pattern work has been in the shape of 'filler' for the main event, as in border and demarcation of figurative work, often the borders being made up using left over glass from the main window display, sometimes these little vignettes of the medieval interpretation of pattern can be more interesting, and certainly more inspiring than that main event.

Colour has always had a relatively dominating aspect within the craft of stained glass window design, and in many ways it has defined the traditions and journey of the discipline. Colour, as it so often does, has helped to add dimension to non-figurative pattern work over the generations with many traditional patterns being transformed from generation to generation as the shapes, but also the colours, changed and evolved with a succession of tastes often dictated by culture, rather than personal creativity.

Illustration: Stained glass window pattern from Camberwell Church.

However, it is not only colour itself that came to dominate stained glass decoration but that of the particular and peculiar aspect that highlights this individualised form of craft, the luminescent quality of the glass itself. Through the use of light being cast through various forms of colouring, stained glass has become one of the most successful and creatively inspiring of the glass crafts. Although having certain technical similarities with mosaic, at least as far as assembly is concerned, it is the added natural quality of daylight that makes this particular craft unique.

The five examples of English medieval glass illustrating this article were not chosen for any specific quality apart from that of non-figurative pattern work. English medieval stained glass was certainly no better than that found in France or Germany for example. However, by choosing examples from large and relatively small ecclesiastical buildings, both cathedral and parish church, from one specific European country, it does give a fair indication of the creative cross-section of quality that was abundant and clearly readily available across England as well as the continent in general.

Illustration: Stained glass window pattern from Salisbury Cathedral.

Interestingly, a number of the examples, although largely abstract in nature, do have elements that tie them to their surrounding environment. Leaves, both natural and stylised seem particularly abundant and in many cases the stained glass window would have both highlighted and complemented the ornamental and painted work that filled most churches, abbeys and cathedrals with colour and decoration.

It perhaps should be noted that medieval ecclesiastical life was by no means one that was dominated by the black vestments and white-washed interiors of the protestant reformation. Medieval churches, abbeys and cathedrals could and were dominated by figurative and non-figurative decorative work on walls, pillars and roofs, both internally and externally. Sculpture would have been coloured, walls would have been painted with various biblical scenes and pillars would have been coloured with different forms of pattern work from spirals to diaper pattern work. Exploring the decoration within the backgrounds of illuminated manuscripts as well as the decorated borders of those same manuscripts give some indication of the quality and range of pattern work that was available to the medieval designer and decorator.

Illustration: Stained glass window pattern from Chartham Church.

In some respects, this should put the ideal of stained glass decoration in context, at least as far as the medieval world was concerned. If ecclesiastical buildings were both highly coloured and richly decorated, then stained glass windows would have been part of the interior scene and not necessarily separate from it. The fact that so many are now whitewashed and minimally inspired, at least as far as decoration and colour is concerned, allows stained glass windows to dominate interiors as they would never have done perhaps when they were originally installed. This is not to say that they were not noticed amongst the decoration. In many respects they would have been seen as the crowning glory or at least as a decorative spectacle, using both human ingenuity and technical ability along with the natural wonder of sunlight, giving a combination of luminescent light that has probably never been bettered.

Although, because of its obvious fragility, much of the original medieval glass work of Europe has been destroyed through political, social and religious upheavals over the generations as well as intentional and non-intentional vandalism, a proportion does still survive, particularly in some of the small rural churches where the dictates of central government or ecclesiastical office, often didn't effectively reach, although even this glass has been reused, requisitioned and repositioned over the generations often giving it a medieval collage effect. It will be interesting to see how long the remaining stained glass, whether original medieval, Victorian reimagining, or contemporary installations, last the test of time. Perhaps the fact that I noticed recently that the local parish church has wire netting in front of its stained glass windows to prevent damage from thrown rocks and stones, shows that perhaps it would not be as long as we would wish.

Illustration: Stained glass window pattern from Salisbury Cathedral.

An interesting video accompanies this article. It is of the South Newington Church and gives a good indication of some of the interior decorative work that could be found within medieval English churches before they were whitewashed. The video will also be featured on the twitter, facebook and google+ aspects of The Textile Blog as well as being part of the video resource.

Further reading links:

 

Medieval English Stained Glass

Illustration: Stained glass design from St Nicholas church, Wilton, Wiltshire, 13th century.

Although stained glass design is often seen and appreciated in the great cathedrals that were scattered across England during the medieval period, these were clearly not the only examples that were produced. Many medium and small churches had examples of stained glass design, some of which have survived into our own period. Although perhaps not necessarily of the quality that could be found in the great cathedrals and abbeys, this does not negate both their importance and their creation within the communities that they served.

The five examples shown in this article portray stained glass design work from various and differing sized churches from the south of England to Staffordshire. They are by no means the best, or the worst, but a very small example of the standard of glass design and decoration that was available to varying parishes throughout England during the long medieval period.

Illustration: Stained glass design of Saint Bernius from Dorchester church, Oxfordshire, 13th century.

Stained and painted glass was both studied and analysed during the nineteenth century, with the Victorian period being a particularly keen consumer of this unique style of work. However, it was not only stained glass designers who used surviving windows and indeed fragments for both inspiration and guidance. Textile, wallpaper, embroidery, printing, wood and metal designers would have been equally intrigued, particularly by the decorative details that were nearly always present in medieval glass design. In fact, it seems difficult to think of many pieces of medieval architecture, sculpture, fine or craft work that did not have some implication and understanding of both pattern and decoration. It is perhaps this inclusion of intrinsic style, colour and pattern that so intrigued the Victorians, who studied, examined and then reconstituted the medieval, transforming it into a wholly contemporary feature of their own era. This became so much the case that today Victorian medieval is seen as a stand-alone decorative style period rather than one that was merely copied.

Illustration: Stained glass design from Stockbury church, Kent, 13th century.

The nineteenth century designer and decorator did not produce a new edition to the medieval, even though inspired by the original. The Gothic Revival explored the various craft systems that had been available during the medieval period, some of which had to be re-learnt from scratch. Interestingly there was a particular emphasis on the amount of colour and pattern that had been available during this early period. There was much talk and detailed discussion concerning the role and extensiveness of painted interior and external walls of churches, as well as the part played by the distinctive coloured areas of stained and painted glass within these interiors. A number of nineteenth century publications concentrated on this aspect of medieval decoration and it was thought important to understand the role that colour played in the medieval world.

Illustration: Stained glass design of the Arms of France from Froyle Church, Hampshire.

To many ordinary people in the medieval world, high saturated and rich colours would have been rarely, if ever seen, apart from those found in nature. The church on the other hand would have been a focus for colour in a number of areas, including stained glass. The sun shining through panels of saturated colour would no doubt have been appreciated by the local population of most small and medium sized churches. Red and blue seems to have been particularly popular choices for decoration, although other colours were also clearly available. This is a world now long gone, and many of the connections with that world have also been broken, leaving us with few remnants in which to fully appreciate the working parameters of the life that ordinary people lived in, as well as the colours and patterns that they would have been aware of, understood and enjoyed.

Illustration: Stained glass design from Bushbury church, Staffordshire.

That much of England's original medieval stained glass work was destroyed through religious zeal, civil war or deliberately removed for 'improvement' is a sad and irreplaceable loss. However, enough remained for the Victorians to reignite a passion for stained glass and to produce a whole range of new work that although perhaps not always at a level with the standard achieved by medieval craftsmen, still allows us to appreciate nineteenth century stained glass as a decorative era in its own right.

Further reading links:
Medieval and Renaissance Stained Glass in the Victoria and Albert Museum
Medieval Stained Glass in Suffolk Churches: "Let the Stained Glass Speak"
English and French Medieval Stained Glass in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Corpus Vitrearum)
The Medieval Stained Glass of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi: Great Britain)The Medieval Stained Glass of Lancashire (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi: Great Britain)
The Medieval Stained Glass of Cheshire (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi)
English Stained Glass
A Catalogue of Medieval Stained Glass in the County of Oxford (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi: Great Britain) (Vol 1)
The Medieval Stained Glass of Northamptonshire (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi)
The Medieval Stained Glass of South Yorkshire (Corpus Vitraearum Medii Aevi, Great Britain, 7)
Life, Death and Art: The Medieval Stained Glass of Fairford Parish Church A - A Multimedia ExplorationThe County of Oxford: A Catalogue of Medieval Stained Glass (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi, Great Britain -- Volume 1).
Medieval Stained Glass...Lincolnshire (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi: Great Britain)
Fairford Parish Church: A Medieval Church and Its Stained Glass
History of Stained Glass
Stained Glass in England c.1180-c.1540
Stained Glass in England During the Middle Ages
Studies in Medieval English Stained Glass