Chartres Cathedral (France)
One of the most famous collections of medieval stained glass is found at Chartres Cathedral, built mainly between 1194 and 1220. The cathedral’s windows include over 150 surviving panels that present a vast array of biblical scenes, saints, and symbolic imagery. The intense blues, sometimes called “Chartres blue,” remain strikingly vibrant after eight centuries, a testament to the craftsmanship.
Sainte-Chapelle (Paris)
Commissioned by King Louis IX in the 1240s, Sainte-Chapelle is renowned for its extensive and exceptionally well-preserved stained glass windows that cover almost every wall. The windows narrate over 1,100 biblical scenes in a breathtaking visual storytelling marathon. Sainte-Chapelle exemplifies the Gothic ideal of light-filled sacred space as a “Heaven on Earth.”
York Minster (England)
York Minster contains some of the finest medieval stained glass in England, including the famous Great East Window completed in 1408, which depicts the entire Christian story from Creation to the Last Judgment. The Minster's windows reflect the English Gothic style and the political and religious turmoil of the period.
Decline and Revival
The production and quality of stained glass windows declined somewhat during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, as changing artistic styles and religious upheavals took hold. The Protestant Reformation in particular led to the destruction of many stained glass windows, seen as idolatrous.
However, the 19th-century Gothic Revival brought renewed interest in stained glass, fueled by Romanticism and nationalism. Artists and craftsmen sought to restore medieval windows and create new ones inspired by medieval designs. Figures such as William Morris and Charles Kempe in England led the revival, while others revived the craft across Europe and North America. shutdown123