MEDIAEVAL STAINED GLASS FROM HOLYROOD ABBEY CHURCH. 81 IV. MEDIAEVAL STAINED GLASS RECENTLY RECOVERED PROE MTH . RUIN F HOLYROOO S D ABBE Y. EELESC CHURCH . P , Y B . P.S.A. SCOT. The fragment f mediaevao s l stained glass e describeaboub o t t d were found on the top of the vaulting of the south aisle of the nave of Holyrood Abbey Church during repairs to the roof in 1909. They have since been ^carefully cleaned and set up to form part of a window e picturth f o e e eas d galleryth en t t a . Their discover f first-claso s yi s importanc o Scottist e h ecclesiastical archaeology, because [hardly yan stained glas s surviveha s d from mediaeval Scotland. ROUGA H SKETCHISTORE TH F STAINEHF O Y O D GLASS. Before describing the Holyrood glass in detail, it will perhaps be n over ru s wel a ,o t lver y briefly e historth , d developmenan y f o t mediaeval stained glass, as a glance at the main points may make t easiei realiso t r exace eth t positio relatiod nan e newl th f no y recovered Holyrood fragments. The ornamentatio f glasno s vessel meany b s f colouso s practisewa r d e Romanbyth s wel a ss othea l r ancient e decorationationsth d an , n oa largf e surfac meany eb numbea f o s f pieceo r f coloureso d glasr o s glazed material carefully fitted together was also well known, but the principlt applieno s windowso dt wa e , althoug e glazinhth f windowgo s with plain glas s knowe Romansth wa s o nt r windofo , w glas founs i s d in almost every Roman fort. In the middle of the seventh century, Benedict Biscop brought glass workers from Gau glazo t l windowe eth s churches ohi f t Wearmoutsa Jarrowd s churca an h d h,an architecture progressed during what is called the Romanesque period, methods of window glazing also underwen a correspondint g development. Coloured glass, arranged in patterns after the manner of a mosaic, was commonly employe churchen di s befor e eleventth e h centuryd an , the further development of foliage and figure work must have followed very quickly, for all our evidence goes to show that stained glass as we know it, though in its earliest form, was the rule for a great and rich churce beginninth Normane t ha th f go , r perioislandou d n di an , that it had been in use on the Continent for some time previously. As decorativa e arte staininth , f glasgo s probably aros Gauln i e . Early glass was very thick, and the pieces were small. The lead- 6 VOL. XLIX. 82 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 11, 1915, e ironworth d an kt worse tha s whicn tki wa o supporte t t h i d ha t i d be stron plentifuld an g . Fro e firstmth , both leadin d ironworgan k wer arrangeo s e o havt s a edistincda t decorative valuee glasTh s. Fia 1. Central part of window at east end of picture gallery at Holyrood Palace, showing fragments of stained glass refixed for preservation. was placed in medallions of various forms, and the windows were divided into corresponding sections by the supporting ironwork. The heavy leadwor s carefullkwa y utilise o outlint d d emphasisan e e figuresth e , ornaments r groupso , . The glascoloures wa s l throug dal e making th s wha n i hwa s i tt i ; MEDIAEVAL STAINED GLASS FROM HOLYROOD ABBEY CHURCH. 83 called " pot-metal" glass thers ;differenccas e y onlwa th ean e d n yoi re f e in manufacture, and that was " flashed," a thin red coating being spread b yblow-pipa e ove sheera f whito t e glas s thic th glassd l swa kan Al . Fig. 2. Fragments of ancient glass found at Holyrood. full of bubbles, but irregular in thickness. These characteristics, coupled wit wave hth y surface ,refracted brokan p e ligheu y th dsucn i twa ha as to produce those extraordinarily rich and brilliant colour effects which are so noticeable in early glass. In glass of the Norman period, such as still exists in France and to .some extent in England, as at Canterbury and York, the designs of 84 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUAR , 1915Y11 . windowe th s consiste f smalldo somewhad an , t thiangulad nan r figures in groups, set in medallions. The backgrounds were of plain glass, usuall r blueo d .yre t sparinglFoliagbu s enearlwa s y wa used yd alwayan e stif, th f f o s acanthus-leaf variety, so familiar in Norman stonework and in manuscript illuminations of the period. Wit e thirteenthth h century came First Pointe r Earlo d y English architecture, and the introduction of the earliest forms of Gothic ornament. Figures were enlarge improvedd dan , foliag extensivels wa e y used dan made much more free and varied, though it still followed the conventional types which we know so well in books and carved stone. The medallions whicn i h scenes were placed became more varie largee th formn d i d r an , figures were used singly in lancet windows and placed beneath simple canopies. Whil backgrounde eth s of scene figured san s continuee b o dt of plain glass, the groundwork of the window as a whole, forming the spaces abov r beloeo w medallion nichesr o s s treate,wa d with elaborate interlacing designs of branches and leaves, often most ingeniously, arranged upon the lines of different geometrical figures. Sometimes this foliage groundwork was made wholly of •white, or rather pale blue- green glass, the background of which was covered with cross hatching, throwin p intu g o strong relief crisd vigorouan p s e foliagth f o e characteristic First Pointed type. This kina silvery f glaso ds ha s - grey appearanc distanca knowt s ei a d grisailles enan a frequentls i t I . y use clearstorn di y windows. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, as architectural forms became less severe, the canopies over single figures assumed a richer character, their arches were ~tre containine fth oile d dan g gables crocketed. These arche d crocketan s s were usually mad f brilliano e t pot-metal yellow glass, whicbrassa s hha y appearance. With the fourteenth century came the introduction of large traceried windows, which provided a wider field for the glazier. The early years of the same century also saw the discovery of what is known as "yellow stain," e causeapplicatioth y b d f chloridno f silveo e whito t r e glass, by the use of which a pale yellow could be produced, giving a lighter altogethed an r different effect from heavye thath f o t, brassy, pot-metal yellow, and the colour could also be applied where necessary to a portion only of a piece of white glass, so as to produce another variety of decorative treatment. Figures were made larger, and a rich diaper r bluo r sometimed eo nre s green glas uses their swa d fo r backgrounds. Scenes were place n compartmentdi s under small canopies insteaf do in medallions. Glass became thinner, smoother, and less deep in colour. The most characteristic fourteenth-century development was the great MEDIEVAL STAINED GLASS FROM HOLYROOD ABBEY CHURCH. 85 elaboratio e canopth f no y ove e singlth r e figure crocketee Th . d gable was increase heightn di crockets ,it s enlarged wall-lika d ,an e background s providedwa , often embattle d otherwisan d e enriched e flankinTh . g pinnacles rose to a great height and were subdivided into smaller ones above, while additional pinnacles and gablets rose in the back- e wholgroundth t e Bu structur. s depicte withoud flae ewa th an t n do t perspective. Grisaille work and foliage borders changed their character accordancn i e wit e timbecame d stylth h th ean f eo e naturalistick Oa . leave d acornsan s leavey iv d ,berries an s , e tak crisplace th th epf eo and lumpy conventional foliage of the previous century. Grisaille backgrounds lose their geometrical characte d consisan r f naturao t l stem d leavean s s wandering about ove a trellis-worr f varieo k d geo- metrical forms produce e carefuth y db l arrangemen e leadworkth f o t . e fifteentth n I h century Perpendicular architecture overspread Englan d broughan d t still large stylw r f glassne windoweo a ,d an s of whic chiee hth f characteristi increasen a s f whitci o generad e deus an l lightness of colour. Canopies, whether over single figures or groups, became still more elaborate, were drawn n perspectivei - usualld an , y made very white, conveying the impression of white stone. The brown enamel, hitherto laid on in mass and then scraped away to show the coloured desig n reliefi n , begae applieb o t nn thii d n line o makt s e shadin d outlinan g e patterns. e colourSomth f o es changed; blues became more purpl r muco e h paler, reds more scarlet, yellows paler, and greens yellower generaln I . , ther ligha silverd s ei an t y appearance unknown before, and the figures and scenes become more and more realistic. Where there is a conventional background, the connected grisailld ol desige th e f ndisappearso , each quarr treates yi d separately and bear a conventionas l n heraldiflowea r o r c charge e wholTh .e effect of these fifteenth-century backgrounds resembles that of what was called " powdering decorativn "i e time e worth t .ka The introduction of enamel painting (to be carefully distinguished fro e singlmth e dark brown enamel hithert oe sixteentusedth n i ) h century brough a revolutiot n stainei n d glass.