What was the medieval Poor Man's Bible?

Answer 1

The term Poor Man's Bible was invented in modern times to refer to medieval stained glass and other artwork appearing in churches. The reason for this is that poor people of the Middle Ages were mostly illiterate and medieval stained glass and church carvings mostly pertained to biblical stories. The supposition is that the windows were used in the churches to illustrate the biblical stories for poor people.

I have put a link below to an article on the Poor Man's Bible for people who want more information.

I do have an opinion on this, however, based partly on the tendency of some historians, particularly those without field experience, to make up history, and based partly on my own observations of artwork in medieval churches. If you stand in the middle of a medieval cathedral and look up at the windows, you can barely tell them apart. If you look at the carvings, they are mostly grotesque and impossible to connect with any biblical story, unless they portray Jesus or the Virgin Mary. My conclusion is that the artwork was intended to make the church beautiful in a way that was consistent with its purposes. There were better ways to tell stories, including hymns, sermons, mystery plays, and miracle plays.