I really couldn't visit All Saints Church, North Street, York without a look at the stained glass. This is just one of a series of medieval windows in the church, which form one of the most important displays of medieval glass in the British Isles.
This window was created around 1410AD, and reflects part of an anonymous poem called 'The Pricke of Conscience', written around 1340AD. It was a very popular devotional poem. This window illustrates part of the poem which tells of the last 15 days of the world.
It reads from bottom left to upper right. The bottom row of images are thought to show those who paid for the window to be made. The 15 images above that show:
1 The sea floods.
2 The sea recedes, exposing the sea-bed.
3 The sea returns to its normal level.
4 Fish leap out of the sea ‘roaring’.
5 The sea catches fire.
6 Fruit drops off the trees.
7 Earthquakes destroy buildings. The fallen church spire may be a semi-humorous warning about the wonderful spire of All Saints, only 15 years old at the time this window was made (and still there).
8 Rocks and stones are consumed by fire.
9 People take refuge in caves.
10 Only the featureless Earth and red sky remain.
11 People come out of caves praying. (One man is still hiding!)
12 The graves are opened.
13 The stars fall from heaven.
14 All living people die.
15 The whole cosmos goes up in flames.
It doesn't sound like a great prospect, but the poem and images in this glass give a fascinating insight into the medieval mind. This window is one of those recently restored and which were being celebrated with the flower festival.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
We are very fortunate in York to have such a varied and interesting selection of churches, all of which are worth exploring and taking photos. There are many interesting bits of history associated with many of the churches. As Jesika ( @jesika2 ) mentions, to the rear of this church is an anchorite cell with an interesting history. Within the church, one of the pillars was recycled from a Roman building. So much to see and enjoy!
Thank you for info on the books, I might look into them for future reference.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
We are very fortunate in York to have such a varied and interesting selection of churches, all of which are worth exploring and taking photos. There are many interesting bits of history associated with many of the churches. As Jesika ( @jesika2 ) mentions, to the rear of this church is an anchorite cell with an interesting history. Within the church, one of the pillars was recycled from a Roman building. So much to see and enjoy!
Ian
Thank you - it's lovely to see this glass after it's restoration.
Ian