Reply To: Public vs. Private Devotion

[Lucas Warthen]

The churches becoming more and more ornate was a very obvious phenomenon that overshadowed the creation of devotional objects and spaces for those who could afford them. Stained glass became extremely prominent as seen in Sainte-Chapelle of Paris and flying buttresses came coupled with those (as the walls needed extra support that stained glass could not provide). The buttresses, while being beautiful, allowed for the amount of light that came in to remain constant while also providing needed support for the building.
The devotional objects, especially the moralized bibles, were completely separate of the church, as people that owned these objects had no reason for attending a church. Churches were most likely filled with pilgrims and devotees and people that could afford the moralized bibles were far from that.
The beautiful churches and moralized bibles coexisted during this time because neither of them knew they existed – they never came in contact with one another during their time period because those that attended them never experienced the other (if that makes sense… hope it does).