one on the reredos of Christchurch Priory, Hants.

It is not perhaps generally known that the actual colours used in early
stained glass possessed each of them their own specific symbolism.
Underlying the obvious story conveyed by the human figures or decorated
devices, there was an inner story to be read with profit by those who
understood the mystic symbolism concerning colours. Without entering at
length into this interesting subject, it may yet be stated that green
was the symbol of Regeneration, red of Divine Love, white of Divine
Wisdom, yellow of Faith, and grey, or a mixture of black and white, the
emblem of Terrestrial Death and Spiritual Immortality. These colours at
different times or in different countries had other meanings as well,
and ecclesiologists tell us that the colours chosen for depicting the
robes of our Lord differ according to the period of His life which it
was intended to represent.

CHAPTER XII.

CRYPTS.

The crypts so generally found beneath our cathedrals and abbeys, and so
frequently under our churches, rarely extend beyond the choir or chancel
and its aisles, and are sometimes of very small dimensions. They are
often coeval with the upper parts of the building, and although not so
elaborate in ornamentation as the fabric they support, they are almost
without exception well constructed and well finished pieces of building.
In some cases the crypt is of much older date than any portion of
the superstructure, as is the case at York, Worcester and Rochester
cathedrals. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the roofs were
often richly groined, and upheld by cylindrical columns or clustered
piers, and furnished with handsome bases and decorated capitals. There
is abundant evidence that crypts were at one time furnished with altars,
piscinas, and the various fittings requisite for the celebration of the
mass, and they were used as sepulchres, wherein the shrines of relics
and martyrs were carefully preserved. Some authorities claim a purely
Saxon origin for the crypts at Ripon Cathedral, Hexham Abbey, and Repton
Church, Derbyshire. The Ripon example is a plain barrel-vaulted chamber,
about 11 ft. long and 8 ft. wide, with no pillars or ornament of any
kind. It is popularly known as S. Wilfrid's Needle, but the exact origin
of the name is lost in obscurity. The Hexham crypt is very similar in
character, but is somewhat longer, being more than 13 ft. long and 8 ft.
wide. As at Ri