Welsh Journals

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Ancient Stained and Painted Glass in Flintshire. By W. BELL JONES, F.S.A. It is a regrettable fact that no serious attempt has been made to compile an inventory of ancient glass in Wales on similar lines as that compiled by Dr. Nelson for England, in his valuable book "Ancient Painted Glass." It is proposed in these pages to give a simple account and to record the examples of this ancient art which remain in Flintshire. The writer claims no special knowledge of stained and painted glass, but he has acquired, to some extent, a "glass eye"-the essential qualification for the appreciation and enjoyment of this delightful art. In the first place it is necessary to remember that the stained and painted glass with which our ancient Churches were glazed, was there for a definite purpose--the instruction of the simple and unlettered souls who attended the ministrations of a particular Church. It was not a question of "Art for Art's sake." The object of the Craftsman was to produce work useful and fitting to the end in view, the decorative and artistic effect was more or less an afterthought. The storied windows taught the truths of Holy Writ, the dogmas and creeds of the Church, the legends of her Saints and Heroes, with a directness and force which the words of the Priest could not. The Jesse Windows portrayed the prophecy and the fulfilment of the Incarnation; the Apostles bearing scrolls on which were written the sentence which according to legend they contributed to the Apostle's Creed; the Evangelists bearing their symbols; the Te Deum with its wealth of imagery; Saints and Doctors, Martyrs and Heroes, the Incarnation, Life and Death of Christ were all pictured either in glass or by its sister art, mural painting on the walls of the Church. Unfortunately little of this is left for us to-day. A great deal disappeared during the religious changes of the 16th Century.