As the meaning of religion evolved, so did the décor of the churches and cathedrals. One of the things that started to make an appearance in churches was the rose window. If you were to ask somebody what they thought of when you said, “rose window,” most people would tell you the church of Notre Dame. Three rose windows help decorate the walls of Notre Dame, and the one most widely known of the three is the one sitting in the south façade. It was constructed in 1250, is almost 43 feet in diameter, and is about 62 feet tall including it’s bay. The circular floral stained glass window has eighty-four panes divided into four concentric circles. The stories of the glass are dedicated to the New Testament, and the window is dedicated to symbolism of the four apostles by being split into four and along with the multiples of four as well. Throughout the floral circle are the twelve apostles, saints and martyrs, and the wise virgins, along with various angels and different scenes from the Old Testament. On the outside of the circle, two corner pieces represent the descent into Hell on one side, and the resurrection of Christ on the other. The center medallion may have once shown God in majesty, it now shows the Cardinal de Noailles coat of arms, after he spent £ 80,000 to restore the rose window. All in all, the colored glass in the window of the south façade represents Christ’s triumphant, his reigning over Heaven, and he is surrounded by all his witnesses on Earth.
The rose window can be viewed from both the inside of the building and the outside of the building. It is still up for debate what side is best to view the window, but according to Abbot Sugar, the stained glass’s beauty is meant to be fully enjoyed from the inside of the building. After commissioning the building of the abbey church of Saint-Denis in 1144, he said that the light that came though the stained glass was the enlightenment of God’s love and His word to be absorbed by the people inside the church. Even though stained glass had been around for about 100 years before his use of the colored windows, the way he combined the technology of rib vaulting and stained glass to create bigger areas for windows. (note: Saint-Denis did not have a Rose window, neither was Notre Dame the first to have one. Saint-Denis was among the first to have larger scale stained glass windows, and among the first to incorporate the oculus and colored glass; and helped pave the way to large scale, colored windows. The first rose window is suspected to be in 1200)
Sources:
http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/spip.php?article448
http://dragon_azure.tripod.com/UoA/Med-Arch-Rose-Window.html
