This dossier takes a look at the glory and tradition of French glassmaking, its age-long history, and the developments which involved and influenced the rest of Europe too. Right from the 3rd century, the area of what we know as France was involved in the production of glass items for its rulers - the Franks - under Roman and Germanic influences. The 8th century saw ancient glassmaking traditions still being carried out, while the secrets of the production of pre-Gothic coloured glass windows were jealously kept by the religious orders in the period from the 9th to the 12th century. The 14th century and the creation of tall, narrow windows for cathedrals gave the country's glass masters the possibility ot exploit to the full their art. Hollow glass production saw a marked oriental influence due to the crusades of the 12th & 13th centuries.
