How Stained Glass Inspired Pub Names

The medieval stained glass windows at York Minster are currently undergoing complete renovation. These windows are the largest surviving expanse of stained glass in the world and were created in the early years of the 1400s. However, they were not solely for decoration. Not only did they have a very important role in the religious teaching but they were also used in the marketing of cathedrals, believe it or not.

In the Middle Ages, most people were illiterate, including those from wealthy families. Monks and clerics were amongst the few who learned to read because their education involved in depth study of the Bible. Many clerics acted as secretaries for wealthy, illiterate patrons giving us the word clerk. (We still describe a vicar as a Clerk in Holy Orders.)

When reading passages from the Bible or telling stories to their congregations, clerics used the pictures in the stained glass windows as visual aids. There people found illustrations of Noah, St Peter, the saints and God himself, together with countless scenes from fables and parables. For example, the East Window of York Minster contains a panel showing God surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists: an eagle, an angel, a lion and a calf.

During the Middle Ages, and after the murder of Thomas A Beckett in Canterbury cathedral, pilgrimages to religious sites became fashionable. Visitors left donations for the upkeep of shrines so places of pilgrimage like York Minster, Westminster Abbey and St Albans cathedral encouraged these visits because often the donations were substantial.

Pilgrims were shown around the cathedral, the monks using the pictures in the stained glass windows to illustrate their stories - the reason many large windows have smaller figures or scenes drawn at eye level. An example of this is also at York and shows a monkey's funeral, a fox stealing a chicken and a dog chasing a stag, amongst others. As pilgrimages were the forerunners of modern package tours, the cathedrals probably did all they could to increase the visitor attractiveness of their site because more enjoyment meant more visitors and more money, the reason these pilgrimage sites became so wealthy.

Originally, religious houses provided overnight accommodation for travellers but, as the traffic increased, enterprising locals opened roadside inns to serve the over-spill. They took religious names to imply a monastic connection - names like Angel, Lamb (of God) and Ship (the Ark). The sign maker no doubt copied the picture from the local church windows as it was an image travellers could immediately identify. These names, and many more inspired by the Bible, are still with us today, even though we are often unaware of the religious connection.

To find out more about how the church affected the naming of pubs, why not order A Book About Pub Names today?

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