The medieval stained glass in Catalonia: Girona cathedral

The production and distribution of stained glass in Mediterranean Europe during the Middle Ages remains inadequately understood. This article focuses on Catalonia, where local glass production is documented as early as the 13th century, but little is known about the production of window glass. This study analyses a collection of stained glass fragments from Girona Cathedral, dating from the 13th to the 16th century, some of which is the work of renowned master glassmakers. The data obtained is compared with contemporary stained glass documented from other parts of Europe, and with a collection of 15th and 16th century archaeological window glass from Barcelona. The data is also contrasted with historical documentation on glass production in Catalonia. The findings reveal that the glass from Girona from the 13th and 14th centuries is of the potassium-lime type, similar to that produced in the workshops of north-western France. By the late 14th and 15th centuries, the composition aligns more closely with that of north-eastern France. In the 16th century, however, the glass changes to a soda-lime composition, similar to the glass found in Barcelona, suggesting a transition from central European to Mediterranean sources, and indicates a change in the raw materials involving the use of soda-lime plant ash instead of potassium-lime forest ash. These results indicate that the production of window glass shifted from France to Barcelona at the close of the 15th century.