Abbé Suger and a Medieval Theory of Light: Lux, Lumen, Illumination
Fig. 1 Building a Cathedral, Jean Fouquet, 15th. c. Fig. 2 Annunciation, Saint-Denis, 12th. c. (reconstructed)
In the new Gothic architecture - originally thought of by outsiders as "barbarian" in contrast to "Roman" - conceived and practiced by Abbé Suger at Saint-Denis, “the stained glass window held pride of place.” (1) Light was both subject and goal, the more light the greater. Medieval theories of light originated in a spiritualized world view and a philosophy whose sources were metaphysical in their history and their application. From biblical scriptures and patristic commentaries sprang a hermeneutic of light, whether allegorical or literal, and it is not surprising that these theories of light had their rationale basis in a tension that makes a certain sense today in physics (optics), however bathed in symbolism. This brief study delineates the source and basis for that rationale as outlined in Abbé Suger’s putative division of typologies of light into lux, lumen and illumination and the subsequent metaphorical application of colored light.
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