Sacred, Circles of Light:An Examination of Six San Francisco Bay Area rose Windows and Their Relationship to a Thousand-Year-Old Tradition
Graduation Date
Fall 2001
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program Name
Humanities
First Reader
Leslie Ross, PhD
Second Reader
Philip Novak, PhD
Abstract
The development of stained glass rose windows began in Western Europe with the emergence of Gothic religious architecture in the mid-twelfth century. Rose windows occupy a position of symbolic significance in late medieval cathedrals and churches. They employ geometric precision to embody the Neoplatonic synthesis of the concept of cosmic order and the metaphysics of light with the most exalted themes of Christian theology. By virtue of their archetypal form, found throughout the natural world and in the human unconscious, they offer contemplative qualities that transcend the imagery they contain. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the creation of rose windows has resumed. This study examines six San Francisco Bay Area rose windows individually, while relating each one to the larger context of the thousand-year-old tradition to which they belong.