To the questions that reach the rectorate of the cathedral – especially through the guides of the Visitor Service – we sometimes answer in images. The subjects are varied and sometimes highlight unsuspected aspects of the cathedral…
Usefulness and aesthetics of the large chandeliers which are in the nave, the transept and the choir of the cathedral: what did the cathedral lamps look like in the 13th century?
The answer is provided by the stained glass windows, which give us information on this precise point, just as they do about ships, carts, chests or cushions…
Exceptionally, many candles were lit: one hundred and twenty on the rood screen on the occasion of the main Marian feasts.
The many devotional lamps in the cathedral were usually oil lamps. The stained glass windows show dozens of them, with various interesting details – even if the model described is stereotypical: a glass bowl suspended by three cords.
In the Joseph window, a “luxury” lamp, including a (green) dish that must have given the surrounding area a few highlights of colour.
In the stained glass window of Saints Anthony and Paul, a conical glass (red) is placed above the flame.
In some stained glass windows (for example, Saint Nicolas – north ambulatory), the suspension system can be seen: a pulley allows the lamp to be raised and lowered from the floor.
In the stained glass window of Thomas, we finally see real “chandeliers”, with three lamps.
