Pains of Glass

The chapel of King's College, Cambridge, is one of England's greatest architectural treasures, and is visited by about two million people every year. It contains the country's finest collection of 16th-century stained glass, and one of the best in Europe, but from ground level much of the glass is rendered almost invisible by distance and the windows' heavy leading. In this guide, the windows are arranged in pairs which relate Old Testament scenes to events of Holy Week, drawing comparisons which can seem surprising to the modern mind and which give spiritual insights. Parallels are drawn between Jonah's escape from the whale and Christ's resurrection, between the fall of manna and the Last Supper, and between the drunken, shamed Noah and Jesus as he appeared before Herod.