Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/657

WINDOW. 561 WINDSOR. gratings. The use of glass was far commoner than is imagined, beginning even in Republican times and ])robably derived from Alexandria and Antioch. ICven iimimoner was the use of trans- parent stones called xpccularia, the choicest of wliieh came from fSi)ain. Early Ciiiti.sTiAN, Hyzantine, anu Moham- medan. The development of the basilica! church involved the general use of windows, and many more actual examplcji have remained of this period, though they are far from being as beautiful as those of the Roman Empire. The normal brick window of Early Christian and Early Byzantine buildings was a single, plain and rather wide round-arched opening, without moldings or sculpture. Only in tlic East, where stone was commonly used, "was the old Gnsco- Ronian richness partly perpetuated, especially in the ruined cities of Central Syria, where hun- dreds, not to say thousands of windows remain in religious and secular structures built during the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries a.d. As the Middle Ages approached the Byzantine windows took on new forms, and were slenderer, often with two lights, separated by mai-ble colon- nettes and framed with moldings. The Roman custom of filluig the aperture with glass or transparent marble was continued and many examples remain of the perforated marble slabs; usually the perforations were small and circular, quite often square, sometimes in elaborate pat- terns. The perforations were at times filled with colored glass, thvis combining the two varie- ties. The churches of Grado, Parenzo, Ravenna, Rome, etc., retain examples dating from the sixth to the eleventh century. In the Mohammedan East windows were early provided with mushara- hii/ch, lattice-work .and stucco window sashes cut out in free and exquisite floral designs, filled with stained glass; this was practiced especially in Egj'pt (Cairo) , but perhaps also in Syria, and many beautiful examples are to be seen in the mosques of Constantinople. IMedi.eval. Romanesque windows are ordi- narily single, round-headed apertures, splayed where the wall is thick; very seldom does a two- light window with central colonnette occur. Oc- casionally the arched opening was framed with carving or treated, like the superb doorways, with receding arches and carved moldings, es- pecially in Southern France and Southern Italy. But the highest development of the window came with the Gothic style. Its perfect system of bal- anced construction permitted the opening of win- dows as vast as the entire space between the supporting piers of a vaulted interior. Thus arose the magnificent pointed and circular win- dows with tracery (q.v.). dividing them into several narrow lights. They were filled with stained glass, which developed into an impor- tant brflneh of painting. For the first time — ex- cept for a few late Romanesque examples in France and Germany — the pieces of stained glass framed in lead were so assembled as to form immense figured compositions rivaling wall- paintings. France led the w-ay, closely followed in this art by England and Germany. Italy was least important. Renaissance. The discontinuance of the Gothic system of constriiction after the fifteenth century put an end to the tise of tracery and re- moved the chief distinction between the win- dows of churches and secular buildings. The art of stained glass declined, although a few fine examples were produced in Florence and in Northern I'rancc during t)iu early Renaissance. In general attention was now bestowed upon the architectural adornment and framing of the sipiare or arched openings, which at first were sin- gle or coupled arches with little decoration, but later were enriched with most elaborate carved ornament, as in the superb windows of the Cer- tosa at Pavia. In the later periods they were tiankcd by colonnettes and crowned with entabla- tures and often with curved or triangular pedi- ments. Clear glass was almost exclusively used. Modern. In moilern work windows are either treated sinq)ly as openings for light and air, and lherefor<' filled with clear glass in movable sashes, usually of wood, or made internally deco- rative, as in the Miildle -Ages, by the use of stained glass. This art has been revived and ex- tended l>y wholly new dev<'lopments as to color and treatment, csjjccially in the United States, and applied in both secular and religious archi- tecture. In general the form and treatment of modern windows are made to conform to the his- toric style which predominates in the design, but the stj'le is often handled with great freedom of detail. Nearly all types of Gothic and Ren- aissance windows nuiy be seen in modern build- ings, the Gothic being chiefly confined to ecclesi- astical buildings. The use of plate glass has made possible the glazing of windows with- out intermediate sash-bars, with gain in light, but loss of architectural effect. Shop windows measuring ten or fifteen feet square are not un- common, each of a single sheet of glass, but they detract greatly from the solid aspect of a build- ing and are wholly destitute of architectural character. WINDOWPANE. A small, thin, almost translucent, variously mottled flounder (Lopho- scttii maculaln) common along the Northeastern coast of the X'nited States. It is a near ally of the English turbot. but is little used as food. WINDOW-SHELL. A Ceylonese 'oyster" [PJucuna phicentfi) of the family Anomiidae, whose valves are round, nearly flat, almost trans- p.arent, and formerly were extensively used in China and elsewhere as a substitute for window glass. In the middle of the nineteenth century their export in ship-loads was an important item of eonnnerce in Ceylon. They abound in tiny pearls, which are saved for burning into a lime to be chewed with betel-nut by those who can alTord the luxury. Compare Jingle-Siiell. WINDPIPE. See Trachea. WINDSOR, -srtn'zer. A municipal and Par- liamentary borough in Berkshire, England, on the Thames, 21 miles by rail west by south of London (Map: England, F 5). Of great an- tiquit}', its chief interest lies in its castle and parks. It has been a favorite residence of Eng- lish monarchs. (See Windsor Castle.) Bridges connect the town with Eton ami Datchet opposite on the left bank of the Thames. The town hall, built by Sir Christopher Wren in 1058, eon- tains some roval portraits. Population, in 1901, 1,3.0,'Sfi. WINDSOR. A port and the capital of Hants County. Nova Scotia, on the Dominion and At- lantic Railroad. 4,") miles northwest of Halifax (Map: Nova Scotia, E 5). It is the seat of