From the Middle Ages

In the Byzantine era, the most common one, the floating wick, originated. The early Church and its monastic orders used them to be permanently lit in front of the tabernacle, spreading throughout Europe. It consisted of a glass container that was filled with water below, then oil above the water, and then a fiber wick that swam above the oil. Since the 2nd century its use was limited to churches "Church (building)") and religious establishments. The most used method for common lighting was the candle. The large Renaissance lamps that still appear today in churches seem to be a derivation of medieval lamps: their enormous lower cup is nothing more than the development of the saucer that in the Middle Ages was placed under the glass that contains the oil.

Luminous crowns began to be used in the catacombs since the 20th century and initially consisted of rings suspended horizontally or mounted on a slender foot, on which lanterns or candles were placed. They became more complicated later and in the century they had their greatest expression in the famous crowns of the churches of Hildesheim and Reims (the latter has disappeared) among many others.

Derivations of them are the chandeliers that in the Middle Ages consisted of horizontally crossed or radiating and suspended arms and in the Gothic era they were composed of bronze or iron arms loaded with ornaments, especially in the centuries and so that they supported a large number of candles. With the century began the lavish chandeliers adorned with numerous glass pendants, which in the richest ones are made of rock crystal. The chandelier's glasses had the mission of reflecting and iridizing the light, giving a large amount of nuances and the sensation of increasing the total light emitted by the candles.

Lamps changed little until the invention of the Argand lamp (or Argand lamp), in 1780, and later, the kerosene lamp, built by a scientist, Ignacy Lukasiewicz, in 1856.

Currently

Since the invention of the lamp-luminaire or incandescent lamp, electricity is almost the only energy used in lighting and, therefore, also in lamps and luminaires. The development of lighting technology has also put on the market a series of new lamps such as discharge lamps, fluorescent tubes and their derivatives, compact lamps, or LED lamps, which consume less energy for the same luminous flux, to the point that in many countries the manufacture of incandescent lamps has been banned.

From the Middle Ages

In the Byzantine era, the most common one, the floating wick, originated. The early Church and its monastic orders used them to be permanently lit in front of the tabernacle, spreading throughout Europe. It consisted of a glass container that was filled with water below, then oil above the water, and then a fiber wick that swam above the oil. Since the 2nd century its use was limited to churches "Church (building)") and religious establishments. The most used method for common lighting was the candle. The large Renaissance lamps that still appear today in churches seem to be a derivation of medieval lamps: their enormous lower cup is nothing more than the development of the saucer that in the Middle Ages was placed under the glass that contains the oil.

Luminous crowns began to be used in the catacombs since the 20th century and initially consisted of rings suspended horizontally or mounted on a slender foot, on which lanterns or candles were placed. They became more complicated later and in the century they had their greatest expression in the famous crowns of the churches of Hildesheim and Reims (the latter has disappeared) among many others.

Derivations of them are the chandeliers that in the Middle Ages consisted of horizontally crossed or radiating and suspended arms and in the Gothic era they were composed of bronze or iron arms loaded with ornaments, especially in the centuries and so that they supported a large number of candles. With the century began the lavish chandeliers adorned with numerous glass pendants, which in the richest ones are made of rock crystal. The chandelier's glasses had the mission of reflecting and iridizing the light, giving a large amount of nuances and the sensation of increasing the total light emitted by the candles.

Lamps changed little until the invention of the Argand lamp (or Argand lamp), in 1780, and later, the kerosene lamp, built by a scientist, Ignacy Lukasiewicz, in 1856.

Currently

Since the invention of the lamp-luminaire or incandescent lamp, electricity is almost the only energy used in lighting and, therefore, also in lamps and luminaires. The development of lighting technology has also put on the market a series of new lamps such as discharge lamps, fluorescent tubes and their derivatives, compact lamps, or LED lamps, which consume less energy for the same luminous flux, to the point that in many countries the manufacture of incandescent lamps has been banned.