\paperw5085 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \pard\tx3255\tx6525\tx9780\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 \f1 \fs22 The technique of producing coloured glass by adding metallic oxides to t
he molten material is \ATXnt901 extremely ancient\ATXnt0 , though it would not appear to have reached England until the late 7th century. However, the stained glass associated with the spectacular \ATXnt902 windows\ATXnt0 of the great Gothic cathedrals
is a product of the 12th to 15th centuries. These magnificent compositions of colour and light were created by assembling small pieces of stained glass in a malleable and \ATXnt903 watertight nexus\ATXnt0 of lead cames set in a larger framework. The
scenes portrayed were usually illustrations of Bible stories, so the impact of such creations on a largely illiterate congregation must have been enormous. \ATXnt904 Not only did\ATXnt0 they create an astounding visual effect, but they also embodied a
recognisable moral and didactic message. Much stained glass was also made for medieval parish churches. However, untold quantities of stained glass \ATXnt905 were destroyed during the 16th and 17th\ATXnt0 centuries, and the newly built churches of the
period tended to prefer bright interiors lit by windows of clear glass. Although French craftsmen were pre-eminent in glass-painting early in the 12th century, within the space of fifty or so years the fame of \ATXnt906 English glass-painting\ATXnt0 ,
like that of manuscript illumination, had spread to the Continent.\par
