Reply To: Stained Glass

[Jessi Willeto]

With Abbot Sugar’s innovation, it inspired many churches architecture that help define gothic art as we know it. When walking into a church with stained glass windows, one can’t help but feel that they are in a significant holy place with the gentle light and illuminated glass art. This helped give an aura of divinity but was also utilitarian; it helped the structure stabilize so there was less of a need to use heavy stones. I think the most important part of the stained glass was letting in light. If we look at romanesque and byzantine churches, there is not much light and it’s difficult to see the mosaics. Using stained glass was, in a way, a mosaic with the addition of lighting. Undoubtedly, this is a big defining factor for gothic style and architecture.