The popular image of the traditional western city has usually been dominated by the cathedral, whose sheer size seemed to create an isolated physical and spiritual focal point. In this iconoclastic study, the author sets out to reverse some of the romantic myths which have accrued about the medieval cathedral, in particular that the cathedral was a separate entity, self-sufficient, sublime and apart. Here the cathedral is shown to be a dynamic, evolving and unpredictable force in the development of the medieval city. Taking France as the main focus, but including material on England, Germany, Italy, Spain and Bohemia, the author describes the growth of diocesan authority and the consequent experiments in the layout of cathedral plans. Full use is made of recent archaeological research to show how architectural, social, financial and religious considerations combined to form a structure that was above all a practical, functioning concern, a 'city within a city'.

The Cathedral: The Social and Architectural Dynamics of Construction (Cambridge Studies in the History of Architecture)

Arts & Photography

ERLANDE-BRANDENBURG, ALAIN

Architecture

Cambridge University Press

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

935 illustrations, including 178 in color, foldouts, map, ground plans, elevations. Bound in publisher's original white cloth.

Gothic Art

History & Criticism

Harry N.Abrams, Inc.

A lavishly illustrated, incomparably detailed survey of the architecture, construction, and restoration of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris traces its history from its origins in the twelfth century in text and 262 illustrations, most in color.

Notre Dame De Paris

Harry N. Abrams

Photographs, drawings, and details of manuscript illuminations tell the story of the birth of the building trades and the changes in society they reflected, revealing how Gothic cathedrals, great castles, bridges, houses, and city walls were designed and built. Original.

Cathedrals and Castles: Building in the Middle Ages

All over Europe, from Westminster to Rouen, the cathedrals of the Middle Ages still stand. This book explores the world of the medieval master mason. How were these structures built when only primitive machinery was available? Who initiated and designed them? Who built and paid for them?

QUAND LES CATHEDRALES ETAIENT PEINTES

Reference

Gallimard]

La Cathédrale

Foreign Language Study & Reference

FAYARD

Chartres dans la lumière de la foi

ROBERT LAFFONT

Un ouvrage superbement illustré qui s'attache aux extraordinaires chapiteaux sculptés de Saint-Germain-des-Prés et insiste sur la place primordiale de cette abbaye sous les Carolingiens autour de l'an mille à Paris.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés an mil

PICARD

La révolution gothique (1130-1190)

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