The people of the Middle Ages built magnificent cathedrals, such as Notre Dame in Paris and Canterbury in England. The churches and cathedrals were the gifts of long years of labor and love from the people, both rich and poor. Not everyone could write earnest prayers or beautiful hymns or go on a pilgrimage, but almost everyone could take part in the building of a cathedral. Sometimes a skilled worker would work for years carving one beautiful figure in stone. Care, patience, skill and devotion helped to make the churches built in the Middle Ages among the finest ever erected. These works of superb beauty were fashioned not ‘for art’s sake’ as the Greeks had done, but chiefly for the greater glory of God.

​

Until the 12th century Christian churches were usually built in what is known as the Romanesque style of architecture. They had small, arched windows and heavy, thick walls to support the vaulted stone ceiling. A new style of architecture called Gothic developed in Western Europe in about the 12th century. In contrast to the Romanesque style, it had thin walls and many tall, beautifully designed windows, and pointed arches. Its floor plan was always in the form of a cross. Gothic architecture was made possible by the discovery that a flying buttress, a column-like support outside the walls, would hold up a heavy ceiling (providing support from above) as well as heavy walls. The flying buttress is one of the main characteristics of Gothic architecture.

Wartburg is located on a 1,350 foot precipice in the state of Thuringia, Germany. The castle's foundation was laid in 1067 by a count. Together with its larger sister castle Neuenburg in the present-day town of Freyburg, the Wartburg secured the extreme borders of his traditional territories.  The count. Louis the Springer, is said to have had clay from his lands transported to the top of the hill, which was not quite within his lands, so he might swear that the castle was built on his soil.  The only access to the castle is by a drawbridge. 

This UNESCO World Heritage site is extremely well preserved—nearly all of the original stained-glass windows are still intact. Little of the building has changed since the early 13th century.  

The word "Gargoyle" shares a root with the word "Gargle"; they come from "gargouille", an old French word for "Throat". A true gargoyle is a waterspout. An unusual carved creature that does not serve that purpose is properly called a "Grotesque". 

Gargoyles and grotesques also serve a spiritual purpose. Most commoners of the Gothic period didn't know how to read and were also quite superstitious. These creatures were unfamiliar, and people thought perhaps they came alive and flew around during the night. A church, in some minds, would serve as a place to protect them from the creatures.  

The art of making stained glass, given new impetus by the Gothic style in the 1140’s, was raised to its zenith a half century later.  The glassmakers' basic formula called for sand, salt and ashes.  Stained glass was made by heating this mixture into a molten mass then coloring it with metallic oxides — copper for red, iron for yellow, cobalt for blue.  Thin fragments of colored glass were worked into the grooves of malleable lead frames, forming panels.  Only after all the panels had been mounted in the window could the glaziers judge the brilliance of their colors and the impact of their design.  Before assembly, enamel paint was applied in certain places to create shading, lines, and details, and the individual pieces were fired in a kiln to harden the pigment.  The windows glowed like huge jewels.  Much original glass has been destroyed over time, but what remains indicate that the windows were brilliantly colored visual teaching aids for the church.

​

Saint Chapelle was a royal chapel attached to the palace of Louis IX.  The chapel not only served the king, queen, and royal court, but housed a very important relic, the crown of thorns.  The crown is a symbol of royalty and Louis IX bought it for a substantial amount.  Typically religious relics were housed in ornate boxes, but in this case, the chapel itself can be thought of as the ornate box.  

Sainte Chapelle was originally commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house the crown of thorns of Jesus Christ, and several other relics he purchased. 

Only five colors are used in the Sainte Chapelle stained glass windows – blue (from cobalt), red and green (from copper), purple (from manganese), and yellow (from antimony). In the 13th Century, stained glass was cut with a hot iron.  Once cut, the pieces of colored glass would be painted. Details such as facial expressions and folds in fabric were added with the ‘grisaille’ technique of monochrome painting in shades of grey. This is a mixture of powdered glass and iron oxide, diluted in water and vinegar and applied on to the colored glass with a paintbrush. The painted pieces of glass are then fired a second time.  

At St. Chapelle there are 15 windows that are each about 50 feet high.  Within these 15 stained glass windows are 1,113 separate scenes taken from the old and new testament.  In this scene, we see Moses with the tablets of the law.