top of page
Stained Glass
Satan as Serpent and Dragon
The Woman Clothed in the Sun is menaced by the Great Dragon of the Apocalypse, Fresco, Abbaye St. Savin sur Gartempe, Chauvigny, France, 1090-1100 “And that dragon was cast down, the great old serpent, that is called the Devil, and Satan, that deceiveth all the world; he was cast down into the earth, and his angels were sent with him.” Revelation 12:9 Wycliffe Bible, circa 1380 (modern English translation) Even though a dragon is a fantastical creature, a modern person will
Carolyn Whitson
Oct 118 min read
Angels We Have Seen On High
I thought I'd finish out our year with something light-hearted and ravishingly beautiful. The West Window of Worcester Cathedral was...
Carolyn Whitson
Dec 28, 20239 min read
Apocalypse Wow--The Sainte-Chapelle Rose Window
The stained glass in Sainte Chapelle (building completed in 1248) represents the highest achievement of the form. When you enter the...
Carolyn Whitson
Mar 5, 20219 min read
Creation and Expulsion of Adam & Eve in the Stained Glass of Chartres Cathedral
To tell the story of Mary through a medieval church's lens, one must have at least one space to tell the story of Eve. At Chartres...
Carolyn Whitson
Feb 9, 20215 min read
Remembering the Notre Dame de Paris Interior, Part 1
Notre Dame de Paris was engulfed in a terrible fire in 2019. Here, I include some of my photos of the interior, taken in 2018. I don't...
Carolyn Whitson
Jan 22, 20213 min read
Remembering the Notre Dame de Paris Interior, Part 3
One thing that revolutionized looking at medieval stained glass for me was using a serious zoom lens, and then spending time in...
Carolyn Whitson
Jan 22, 20214 min read
Chartres Cathedral--another temple to Mary the Queen
Chartres isn't very far from Paris, by modern standards, and its veneration of Mary is an occasion for comparisons to Notre Dame de Paris....
Carolyn Whitson
Jan 22, 20213 min read
bottom of page