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Robert Walsh
2009
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To study stained-glass windows is to study one of the purest forms of rhetoric, storytelling and persuasion. These windows played an important part in the lives of the people during what is considered the High Gothic Age, or roughly the period between the 10 th and 13 th Centuries. This paper will look at how this was done.
Some early background on stained-glass windows is necessary. Stainedglass windows were used as a means of storytelling to a widely illiterate populace. They depicted stories, scenes and people from the Bible. In most cases, they came from the New Testament, and centered on Jesus, his mother the Virgin Mary, and the people and places they came in contact with.
They also served to let light into the churches by using an array of colors.
These windows were used to represent God, who is perceived to be the True or Divine Sun or Light. Victor Beyer equates this with a form of Platonic Truth by saying that “Truth and beauty were one.” (p. 5) Light was also seen as a
“Heavenly Jerusalem”. To compare this to the Caveman Metaphor we studied earlier in this class, if you observed the teachings of the Church and the Bible, you will attain this True light. Otherwise, you will stumble in the darkness of the cave.
That stained-glass windows were placed in churches was no coincidence.
Churches were the main social and authority figures of their time—“The
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dominant authority patron and unifying agent over all human activity in
Europe….and held the power to determine man’s destiny.” (“Wales, p. 6)
Thus, the Church acted as the Platonic agent of Truth, or judge, jury and executioner.
If the Church was Truth’s main agent, then its clergy were the main conveyors. Clergy had complete control over all aspects of church functions: liturgy, sermons and even the design of stained-glass windows. Because of their personal biases, they persuaded their ideas for these windows to the builders and artists who erected these windows. The sermons were then used as another form of rhetoric, to drive the central points of both liturgy and stained-glass windows home. Thus, we have the earliest, albeit more “sacred form of advertising of what can be found in the church.” (Wales, p. 7) From an educational standpoint, both Bishop Durand du Mende (Brisac, p. 7) and
Pierre de Moissy (Brisac, p. 13) state that stained-glass windows are a form of
“(True) enlightenment”.
In modern times, perhaps around the 1800’s, when many of the churches were built here in the United States, its people, who were more literate and affluent than their earlier counterparts, had more of a say into what they wanted in a stained-glass window. Thanks largely to the separation of church and state policy that exists here, the church and clergy have less say in the day-to-day matters of government and authority. Rather, they focused more
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on the Augustinian, or religious part of Truth. Thus, their mission was to beautify churches. The people, through their own biases, became the storytellers. Dedicating windows to loved ones became more fashionable. So clergy allowed this practice for that dual purpose. Beautifying a church and honoring a loved one became another form of propaganda.
Still, though, the art of storytelling and symbolism was not lost. As the High
Gothic churches were built for the French Aristocrats (Brisac, p. 41), the stained-glass windows were built too high for the common people to see.
They were not the “Catechism for the illiterate”. (Brisac/Grodecki, p. 24).
Starting with the churches in England, and then brought over here, the churches were built on a more horizontal plane. Thus, the stained-glass windows were brought back to a much lower position for the working-class people to see. And since these are the people who built the churches (usually after their day jobs ended), they would want these windows displayed prominently. Thus, we have our modern-day churches and stained-glass windows.
I now wish to cite examples of the two churches I frequent. St. Bernard’s
Roman Catholic Church was built by the Irish immigrants who also built the railroad. The windows in this church are original to the church, and are 140 years old. Rollstone Congregational Church was built one year earlier (1868).
Their congregation consisted of a more affluent people, who held many of the
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political offices in Fitchburg at the time. The stained-glass windows in the nave of this church were erected during a period between 1916 and 1928.
The Torrey Windows in the Choate Memorial Chapel went up in 1938, while the Jennie F. Choate Window (behind the altar in this chapel—this area is usually referred to as the chancel) was done in 1944.
Some patterns emerge from both churches. With the exception of the small
Rose Window, some ornamental windows, King David with the Harp (Morse
Window), Psalm 23 – The Lord is My Shepherd (Rockwood Window) and
Psalm 95 (Fosdick Window)—all of these windows housed in Rollstone, the windows in the naves of both churches tell of the parables in the gospels.
What I find interesting is that the Jennie F. Choate Window at Rollstone, as well as three of the four windows that face the apse, or main sanctuary at St.
Bernard’s all depict scenes from the Nativity, or other scenes from the Birth of
Christ. I find this no coincidence, as since the altar is where clergy lead worship and preach, the windows are used to represent not only Christ’s birth, but also our own. Life transcends to us here. In the case of St. Bernard’s, a fourth window in the main sanctuary, as well as two others nearby depicts scenes leading to Christ’s death (Christ washing the feet of the Twelve
Apostles and Christ before Pilate).
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By contrast, Christ is both shod (meaning he is alive) and unshod (after death) at Rollstone. He is also depicted in three colors: white (light, faith, serenity and purity), red (martyrdom, passion and sacrifice) and purple
(royalty, justice, Truth and mystery). [Wales, p. 97 & 103] So the many phases of Christ’s life and death are displayed here at Rollstone.
At St. Bernard’s, with the exception of three depictions of the Christ-child in white, all of the depictions of Christ are of him being unshod and robed with a red cloak with either a purple lining or a purple tunic. Thus, we have a display and reminder of our mortality, sacrifice and pursuit of Truth being depicted.
Again, the position of these windows advertises not only the privilege of being born, but also the death that eventually happens to all of us.
I go back to the Jennie Choate Window as the purest form of advertising.
This window depicts two scenes from the Birth of Christ. Wales points out that this window is a “colorful song of rejoicing for the Advent of Jesus Christ…
[Owing to] St. Bonaventure’s hymn O Come all ye Faithful”. (p. 96)
As you look from the top of the window, you see the star shining, or resting atop the manger. The idea is that those who follow the star will find the manger. (The star becomes an advertisement for Christ’s birth.) The Holy
Family is pictured in front of the manger, with angels flanking the manger from either side of the upper panel.
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Angels are another means of advertising, as they are the ones who announce or foretell the Birth of Christ. This is the theme of the bottom panel of the Jennie F. Choate Window. Here, the angel announces to Mary that she is about to give birth to Christ. The star appears again, shedding its rays as if to impregnate her. The position of the rays, coming to Mary’s rear, indicates that
Mary is, in fact, a virgin, and not showing the usual sexual position enjoyed by men. Thus, the scene also depicts the Immaculate Conception. What is implied, and is well documented in the Bible, is that the angel also announced the pregnancy of Mary’s much-older relative Elizabeth, who would give birth to another master of advertising, John the Baptist. (He announced the coming of Christ, as he was baptizing him.)
Another window that makes use of an angel as a means of persuasion can be found in one of the windows at St. Bernard’s that have to do with Christ’s birth.
While Scripture has the angel appearing to Mary and Joseph in a dream, the window has the angel approaching the Holy Family riding on donkey. The story is the same in both cases. The angel persuades Mary and Joseph to go back to their native country by a different route because of King Herod’s intent to kill every first-born son in an attempt to root out Christ out of jealousy.
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Rollstone has two windows that advertise connotations to its namesake.
One of the Torrey Windows (in Choate Chapel) depicts the “Church on the
Rock” parable. Going back to the High Gothic Era, where clergy held sway over the design of stained-glass windows, Rev. Woodward requested that this depiction include the likeness of Fitchburg’s famous Rollstone Boulder.
That boulder comes from the hill bearing the same name. While there is no mention of it in Wales’ book, I believe Rollstone Hill is the basis for the Fosdick
Window, which depicts Psalm 95:4. It reads, in part: “…The strength of the hills is also his”. (p. 68 & 69)
The Morse Window at Rollstone is one of my favorites. It depicts King David holding the harp. (Wales, p. 51 & 52) Where David authored the Psalms, the harp has a dual purpose. It represents both the Psalms and music, in general.
The harp, being the universal symbol of music, invites us to sing at the services. It has been often said that “When you sing, you pray twice”
The Jaquith Window portrays another form of advertising—that of the
Public Service Announcement. An angel is depicted holding a sash with the inscription “Consider the Lilies”. (Matthew, 6:28 and Wales, p. 26) Where lilies grow and multiply very easily, the representation is that of children.
Two connotations are implied here. Taken at face value (with “consider” as the key word here), we are instructed not to forget our youth—to house, feed,
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clothe and educate them. The metaphor of multiplication suggests bearing many children, a practice that China does not allow. If this window were in any Catholic Church, the strong anti-abortion message would also be evident here.
As final proof of how advertising in stained-glass windows works, I was at my regular church during the Feast of Christ the King, which usually takes place the Sunday before Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas/Advent
Season (also the start of the Liturgical Year in the Catholic Church). I came to
Revelation, 1:8, where Christ declares “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” I instantly recalled one of the Newton Windows that
Amy Larsen described. That depiction is one of many symbols and names used to represent Christ that appear on the upper balcony windows. (Wales p.
56 & 57)
We have seen how advertising plays a part in displaying stained-glass windows. The pictures, descriptions and accounts of people and places in the
Bible were used to draw an illiterate population into the churches that bear these windows. This was the earliest form of truth-in-advertising, since all the congregations had to do was to view these windows, listen to the sermons, and then equate the two together.
Priests were the authority figures, and they used their positions to
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persuade both the artists and builders who erected these windows, and their congregations through their sermons. In later centuries, especially here in the
United States, the clergy persuaded a now more affluent and educated people to honor loved ones by donating a stained-glass window, or at least defray a part of the cost. This was done under the propaganda of beautifying the church building. Priest and parishioner now collaborated over the design of each window.
The symbolism behind each stained-glass window is rich, and is often left to the beholder for interpretation. No one interpretation is the same, regardless of gender, age race, or affluence. The symbolism served to tell its own story, and persuade churchgoers into thinking about their own lives and mortality.
Public service announcements, like the aforementioned “Consider the Lilies” and a window at St. Bernard’s depicting the 5,000 loaves being caught at sea, calls the people to action to serve one another. The 5,000 loaves parable transcends nearly all generations and reminds the people to eradicate starvation in our world.
In conclusion, it can be argued that stained-glass windows were the early forms of billboards and jumbotrons. Their beauty lured the people into the churches; their depictions told the stories and taught the lessons. The windows and the accompanying readings and sermons were accepted as
Truth. It is this Truth that we all pursue—the Truth that binds us all together.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beyer, Victor, Stained Glass Windows, Dufor Editions, Philadelphia, PA, 1965.
Brisac, Catherine, A Thousand Years of Stained-Glass Windows, Doubleday & Co., Inc., New York, 1986.
Brisac, Catherine, and Louis Grodecki, Gothic Stained-Glass, 1200-1300, Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
NY, 1985.
Wales, Solon B., Stained-Glass Windows – Rollstone Congregational Church, Circa. 1979-1981.
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