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You walk into a Grand Cathedral, and look up awestruck by the sheer scale and beauty of the stained glass that you see before your eyes. The kaleidoscope of colours and hues take the breath away, and you wonder how human beings could create such beautiful artwork and designs? Your thoughts then take you to the history of stained glass, and back to the period where I believe its heyday reached its pinnacle. Let us take a look back, back in time to Medieval Europe. In fact, since the time of Ancient Rome, stained glass has been loved and admired for its breathtaking beauty and their utility. But it is not to Ancient Rome we are heading, no our destination is forward in time, between the years 1150-1500. Indeed, this was the time period in Medieval Europe when the art of stained glass making came to the fore, huge and magnificent windows, adorned nearly every cathedral during this period and this was certainly the case in Europe at this particular time.

1150-1500

Theophilus: The majority of what we know about stained glass in Medieval Europe is because of one man, named Theophilus. Theophilus was a German monk from the 12th Century who had skills not just in artwork but in metalwork too. Theophilus would study the work, very closely, of glass painters and glaziers {describing this in his text on 'Diverse Arts'}. For hours on end Theophilius would study the glaziers and glass painters. Indeed he was after specific detailed directions in how to create windows of breathtaking beauty. Students of the art of stained glass can thank the German monk Theophilius, for the detailed knowledge he gained in studying the craftsmen and writing down what knowledge he attained.

The Romanesque Period

It was during the 12th Century that more stained glass had to be created. This was simply because more cathedrals where being built all around Europe at this particular time, so the demand for the beautiful glass was at its height. The place that became the centre of all of this artwork in glass was known as, Ile de France {a region near Paris}. This was the centre of stained glass making throughout Europe.

13th Century

The colours that are used with stained glass are as follows: Green, Red, Yellow and Blue. These where the primary colours used. However, the secondary colours used where: Violet, brown and White - which had a tint of blue or green - and also pink too. Shades of pink where used for the skin colour.

Gothic Stained Glass

Again, during the 13th Century, what became known as Gothic

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