Just got back from a couple of weeks in Europe. It was amazing.
As we walked through cathedrals across England, Normandy, and other parts of France, I was struck by the beauty and elegance of the stained glass windows.
Stained glass is beautiful. It is just colored glass, of course, arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way. The glass I saw was designed to tell stories - stories of the Bible, and of Christ, for the most part. But there were other stories portrayed, usually of saints or other significant people, but also sometimes of more mundane topics and characters.
From the outside, these windows appeared uninteresting. Just dark, opaque holes in the wall. Sure, some of the rose windows have beautiful stone tracery, which was quite lovely. But that loveliness was really just ancillary - the purpose is to hold up the windows. Actually, this is true of much of the innovation that took place in the Gothic period. Making the buttresses thinner, moving them away from the walls to create flying buttresses, and the use of pointed arches, all enabled the walls to become thinner and allowed for more light to enter the space. The culmination of this, in my mind, is in a place called Sainte Chapelle (in Paris, near the Notre Dame Cathedral).
This clearly shows how the walls have truly just become a framework into which the windows are set. From inside the structure, the walls almost seem to melt away, leaving a glowing, majestic inner space which is intimate, glorious, and inspiring. Yet, this is what it looks like from the outside.
Who could guess by looking at the somewhat austere exterior the wondrous beauty that lies within?
Some people are like this. Outwardly, they are stony, off putting and austere. They are unapproachable and difficult to understand. There is little or no hint of the inner sanctuary and beauty and majesty that lies within. So, many people chose not to venture into these spaces, passing them by as unimportant or insignificant.
Yet, for those who will venture, a jeweled cavern of riches and beauty lies within.
As we walked through cathedrals across England, Normandy, and other parts of France, I was struck by the beauty and elegance of the stained glass windows.
Stained glass is beautiful. It is just colored glass, of course, arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way. The glass I saw was designed to tell stories - stories of the Bible, and of Christ, for the most part. But there were other stories portrayed, usually of saints or other significant people, but also sometimes of more mundane topics and characters.
From the outside, these windows appeared uninteresting. Just dark, opaque holes in the wall. Sure, some of the rose windows have beautiful stone tracery, which was quite lovely. But that loveliness was really just ancillary - the purpose is to hold up the windows. Actually, this is true of much of the innovation that took place in the Gothic period. Making the buttresses thinner, moving them away from the walls to create flying buttresses, and the use of pointed arches, all enabled the walls to become thinner and allowed for more light to enter the space. The culmination of this, in my mind, is in a place called Sainte Chapelle (in Paris, near the Notre Dame Cathedral).
This clearly shows how the walls have truly just become a framework into which the windows are set. From inside the structure, the walls almost seem to melt away, leaving a glowing, majestic inner space which is intimate, glorious, and inspiring. Yet, this is what it looks like from the outside.
Who could guess by looking at the somewhat austere exterior the wondrous beauty that lies within?
Some people are like this. Outwardly, they are stony, off putting and austere. They are unapproachable and difficult to understand. There is little or no hint of the inner sanctuary and beauty and majesty that lies within. So, many people chose not to venture into these spaces, passing them by as unimportant or insignificant.
Yet, for those who will venture, a jeweled cavern of riches and beauty lies within.
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