DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Shangri-la, issue 7, July-August 1948

Transcribe
Translate

Shangri-la, issue 7, July-August 1948

Page 6

insane, caused perhaps by a reversion to the childish desire to break things and make a noise in doing so; but here was a statement that threw new light on window breaking and made it necessary to arrive at an entirely novel interpretation of one of the most frequently repeated acts of the insane.

* * * *

The earliest home had only a door. It was a cave, a rock nest. Later on, the homes of the aristocrat had two doors, front and rear. As the centuries passed, it was found necessary to make caves out of stone . . . and thus the first stone houses were built. These were modeled on the natural caves, with doors the only openings. Finally, small slits were made high in the wall to let out the smoke; and, when it was realized that those also let in air and sumlight, the first window was deliberately incorporated into the architecture of the primitive man. While windows were used in dwellings, it was not until the Goths began to build churches that windows were used in temples of worship.

Various substances were used to close these windows. In the Orient, stone and alabaster tracery filled in the opening. The Chinese used polished oyster shells, thin plates of hern[[?]], and silk varnished with shining lacquer. In Rome, wooden shutters were used and later on a transparent stone, called lapis specularis, which was no doubt mica. In the second century, polished sheets of thin horn were used. Some authorities think that actual glass was used in Pompeii, but the first authentic reference of its use is found in the writings of Gregory of Tours who speaks of seeing glass windows in Italian churches in the Fourth Century. St. Wilfred, Bishop of York in 665, put glass windows in the vacant windows of the ministry, while in 674 Abbot Benedict Biscop imported artisans from France to glaze the windows the the abbey of Wearmouth. As early as 1180, the rich used glass in their private homes in England, while in 1458 Aneas Sylvius commented on the fact that many wealthy Venetians were having glass windows placed in their palaces.

At once, two facts are apparent. One is that the richer a person was, the more windows he could have in his home. The second fact is that in those early days only the wealthy could place glass int heir windows. Thus, the possession of glass windows was an index of a person's wealth and social position. There was a gradual ascent from the poor peasant, who lived in a hut with no opening but the door and smoke hole, up to the laborer and artisan, who lived in a house with windows but nothing in them, and on to the merchant, who boasted of at least one glass window, and ending with the rich nobility, who had homes with as many glass windows as pleased the caprices of the architect.

Even when glass became more common, there was still a great difference between the windows of the poor and the rich. The pieces of glass in the homes of the poor and middle class were 

(6)

Saving...

insane, caused perhaps by a reversion to the childish desire to break things and make a noise in doing so; but here was a statement that threw new light on window breaking and made it necessary to arrive at an entirely novel interpretation of one of the most frequently repeated acts of the insane. * * * * The earliest home had only a door. It was a cave, a rock nest. Later on, the homes of the aristocrat had two doors, front and rear. As the centuries passed, it was found necessary to make caves out of stone . . . and thus the first stone houses were built. These were modeled on the natural caves, with doors the only openings. Finally, small slits were made high in the wall to let out the smoke; and, when it was realized that those also let in air and sumlight, the first window was deliberately incorporated into the architecture of the primitive man. While windows were used in dwellings, it was not until the Goths began to build churches that windows were used in temples of worship. Various substances were used to close these windows. In the Orient, stone and alabaster tracery filled in the opening. The Chinese used polished oyster shells, thin plates of hern[[?]], and silk varnished with shining lacquer. In Rome, wooden shutters were used and later on a transparent stone, called lapis specularis, which was no doubt mica. In the second century, polished sheets of thin horn were used. Some authorities think that actual glass was used in Pompeii, but the first authentic reference of its use is found in the writings of Gregory of Tours who speaks of seeing glass windows in Italian churches in the Fourth Century. St. Wilfred, Bishop of York in 665, put glass windows in the vacant windows of the ministry, while in 674 Abbot Benedict Biscop imported artisans from France to glaze the windows the the abbey of Wearmouth. As early as 1180, the rich used glass in their private homes in England, while in 1458 Aneas Sylvius commented on the fact that many wealthy Venetians were having glass windows placed in their palaces. At once, two facts are apparent. One is that the richer a person was, the more windows he could have in his home. The second fact is that in those early days only the wealthy could place glass int heir windows. Thus, the possession of glass windows was an index of a person's wealth and social position. There was a gradual ascent from the poor peasant, who lived in a hut with no opening but the door and smoke hole, up to the laborer and artisan, who lived in a house with windows but nothing in them, and on to the merchant, who boasted of at least one glass window, and ending with the rich nobility, who had homes with as many glass windows as pleased the caprices of the architect. Even when glass became more common, there was still a great difference between the windows of the poor and the rich. The pieces of glass in the homes of the poor and middle class were (6)