tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post6002496903877181330..comments2023-08-18T19:57:30.372+10:00Comments on humanities researcher: Shameless Request for Assistance: Medievalist Stained GlassThis old world is a new worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11567163294720510335noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-78075394151100414622009-06-02T16:43:53.660+10:002009-06-02T16:43:53.660+10:00The only thing that occurs to me, aside from Hunch...The only thing that occurs to me, aside from Hunchback, is the Black Knight riding his horse in through the stained-glass window to the banquet hall in episode 9 of Merlin. But a) not a church, since they avoid the question of religion overall, and b) the glass's significance is pretty much Something Pretty And Dramatic To Smash. You could also read it as being a challenge to the secular power Hannah Kilpatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06750010843246514032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-10760117387593964872009-06-01T11:21:07.302+10:002009-06-01T11:21:07.302+10:00Minor note to this interesting discussion. Like K...Minor note to this interesting discussion. Like Karl, I too thought there was a stained glass sequence in Seventh Seal. Turns out, the sequence dwells on a church mural, still in process, which the painter's named "The Dance of Death" There's certainly no veering away here, though.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267907649652160741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-3779590791734133432009-05-31T21:30:54.719+10:002009-05-31T21:30:54.719+10:00Stephanie,
In A Knight's Tale there are two scene...Stephanie,<br /><br />In <I>A Knight's Tale</I> there are two scenes in cathedrals. The first one, at Rouen, shows nothing really. The second one, in Notre Dame (at 1:14), has stained glass windows set in the aisle wall in wide shot, but this is all done on a set and the windows are done with blue screen.<br /><br />In <I>Indian Jones and the Last Crusade</I> (does this count?), at 0:26 there Andrew Stephensonhttp://www.amems.unimelb.edu.au/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-59983297864889776242009-05-31T15:00:18.917+10:002009-05-31T15:00:18.917+10:00I am straying far from your initial request, egged...I am straying far from your initial request, egged on by reference to wall paintings and your own nod to pilgrims decoding stained glass in the Tale of Beryn, but the first book of the Aeneid has come to mind, in which Aeneas arrives in Carthage only to see his own city's (mis)adventures artistically depicted: he stops there, dumbly, "devouring what he saw so well design'd/ and with an empty Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-22038024758434882412009-05-30T15:45:30.401+10:002009-05-30T15:45:30.401+10:00Stephanie, what about wall paintings? That probabl...Stephanie, what about wall paintings? That probably had a much greater impact upon more churchgoers than stained glass did in general --for one, probably a lot more widespread, for another, not so reliant upon just the right angle of the sun. Obviously since they're about all gone now, they don't appear in any medievalist films: but wow!LanglandinSydneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02076779340305316211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-84253545038591596762009-05-30T11:48:48.072+10:002009-05-30T11:48:48.072+10:00Amazing! You guys are incredible!
This is all tre...Amazing! You guys are incredible!<br /><br />This is all tremendously useful; both in terms of detailed suggestions about specific films; and more general reflections on methodological issues, esp. Vellum and Kvond. <br /><br />I'll try and post again about this in a few days: a kind of experiment about how an essay develops through this kind of conversation, perhaps. <br /><br />Genevieve and This old world is a new worldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11567163294720510335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-39406608134732908692009-05-30T10:31:36.529+10:002009-05-30T10:31:36.529+10:00Count me among those willing to be enlisted, if th...Count me among those willing to be enlisted, if there's a title to be checked out and I can find it fast enough.straynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-80278914937080939982009-05-30T08:48:52.414+10:002009-05-30T08:48:52.414+10:00Apologies if you've already considered this, but o...Apologies if you've already considered this, but one thing you might want to keep in mind in your analysis is the type of movie and its intended audience -- so a pop-culture movie might represent stained glass in a completely different way than an art film or a romance or what-have-you. If, that is, you can get a large enough sample size to test that.Vellumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14141550387013181309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-54039129519830731082009-05-30T00:53:37.592+10:002009-05-30T00:53:37.592+10:00On "Hunchback" - strange that this is one moments ...On "Hunchback" - strange that this is one moments when elements of the cathedral architecture are "static." Elsewhere, bells ring, gargoyles move/talk; I think stillness = reverence here.Jonathan Hsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13214201468052661183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-86630679338828863162009-05-30T00:51:40.987+10:002009-05-30T00:51:40.987+10:00What about Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" ? Ve...What about Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" ? Very self-conscious incorporation of religious iconography here, esp. when the Demi Moore gypsy character sings "God Help the Outcasts" to the enigmatically non-responsive statue of the Virgin Mary (also votive candles, parishioners at prayer - and vibrant closing shot of stained glass and rose window). Of course, the religious iconography Jonathan Hsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13214201468052661183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-87037053211997338022009-05-29T23:57:31.007+10:002009-05-29T23:57:31.007+10:00But my classicist friends also tell me that the ac...<I>But my classicist friends also tell me that the accuracies [set and setting-wise] of HBO's "Rome" were pretty amazingly right on.</I>Although w/ something like Gladiator, there's a clear Chromophobia going on, given the (ahistorical) sterile white of the marble. <br /><br />Insofar as it's appropriate to talk about this w/ a B&W film, the same thing is clearly going on in <A HREF="medievalkarlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12440542200843836794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-6351626592159300442009-05-29T23:15:35.761+10:002009-05-29T23:15:35.761+10:00Neither here nor there, but I think Dario Argento'...Neither here nor there, but I think Dario Argento's lighting, especially in Suspiria perhaps, puts the stained glass back into cinema. <br /><br />Would be interesting if Eisenstein filmed any stained glass, as he was apparently influenced re: montage by Ignatius of Loyola, filmic devotio moderna etc. Anna K. knows more about this.Nicola Masciandarohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01279665722551517693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-663586275562242752009-05-29T23:00:29.256+10:002009-05-29T23:00:29.256+10:00Embarrassingly, I am nothing of a medievalism film...Embarrassingly, I am nothing of a medievalism film expert, but I did work in film at one point and I do know that many decisions are made on a set that have to do with how something looks on camera, with particular lighting, etc., which makes me inclined to accept the "technical" and "practical" theses [what does the DP think about how it *looks*? in other words]. Also, from knowing that, with Eileen Joyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756965845120441308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-73629312599892335182009-05-29T22:59:15.389+10:002009-05-29T22:59:15.389+10:00Your reference, Karl, to Anchoress encouraged me t...Your reference, Karl, to Anchoress encouraged me to recall various key interior scenes from the movie (which I can't believe you've not seen in 15 years! I do love it for so many reasons, one of which is the way students respond in total shock and sometimes horror to it). I'm having a hard time seeing stained glass in that film, however much it would suit aesthetically, given its size. If there Myra Seamanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02785617479392033454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-6324413034034157562009-05-29T22:55:24.344+10:002009-05-29T22:55:24.344+10:00hmmmm... the only medievalish movieish thing i've ...hmmmm... the only medievalish movieish thing i've seen recently is the entire cadfael series... that's set in a monastery (so a christian context) but i don't remember any imagery of stained glass. could be wrong though...melihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10026675747253438229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-83603782133843400692009-05-29T22:54:15.090+10:002009-05-29T22:54:15.090+10:00Check out "Ladyhawke" -- I reviewed the final scen...Check out "Ladyhawke" -- I reviewed the final scene and the stained glass window imagery isn't "front and centre" but it plays an important part in the story. The central section of the window is destroyed to let the eclipse be visible for the climax so there are several shots of the window that might be of us to your work!Janicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14093558563358431804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-25551701841902187552009-05-29T22:34:08.290+10:002009-05-29T22:34:08.290+10:00And another less-than-helpful suggestion....
alth...And another less-than-helpful suggestion....<br /><br />although it's been 15 years since I saw it, <A HREF="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106271/" REL="nofollow">Anchoress</A> should be a good place to check for the presence or absence of stained glass. She's walled up in a church, after all. I'd guess that this will fit all of your criteria.medievalkarlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12440542200843836794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-14278491793495443462009-05-29T22:14:27.740+10:002009-05-29T22:14:27.740+10:00Sadly, all I can remember, and that possibly incor...Sadly, all I can remember, and that possibly incorrectly, is a scene w/ stained glass in The Seventh Seal. I'd guess, however, that were SS in color, and if my memory is correct, it'd serve as a rare counterexample to the pattern you've observed.Karl Steelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03353370018006849747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-27914825494570547672009-05-29T22:10:41.473+10:002009-05-29T22:10:41.473+10:00Stephanie,
If you would accept the musing of a n...Stephanie, <br /><br />If you would accept the musing of a non-Medievalist, I like your theory intuitions quite a bit. As a sidenote of it, it calls to mind my own sense that medieval glass was the "cinema" of its day, it's own technicolor, narrative, affective lightshow which surely must have dazzled in the way that early century cinema once did. In some of your thesis points I get the implicit Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-88137014785300408642009-05-29T21:40:19.013+10:002009-05-29T21:40:19.013+10:00Genevieve, I was just thinking that exact same thi...Genevieve, I was just thinking that exact same thing (the excuse) about Heath Ledger and Rufus Sewell -- any stained glass in <I>A Knight's Tale</I>? And what about those Pasolinis?Kerryn Goldsworthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11270814460793882309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-33250803713185956892009-05-29T20:09:43.643+10:002009-05-29T20:09:43.643+10:00Gee, Stephanie, that sounds like an excellent excu...Gee, Stephanie, that sounds like an excellent excuse to watch Excalibur again :-) but it sounds like you have that covered.<br />Is there anything else you want checked out? I could do with some film research for a change.genevievehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02895689949182365454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31107360.post-19464819516429588102009-05-29T20:04:46.493+10:002009-05-29T20:04:46.493+10:00I like the opening sequence of Disney's Beauty and...I like the opening sequence of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, in which the stained glass is used to tell the back story -- but that tale is 100% secular, and the stained glass is so stylized and vibrant there is nothing medieval about it ... and yet there is everything medieval about it.Jeffrey Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17346504393740520542noreply@blogger.com