The Cathedral: The Social and Architectural Dynamics of Construction

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title The Cathedral: The Social and Architectural Dynamics of Construction
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Alain Erlande-Brandenburg
SeriesCambridge Studies in the History of Architecture
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:404
Dimensions(mm): Height 246,Width 189
Category/GenreReligious buildings
ISBN/Barcode 9780521110372
ClassificationsDewey:726.6094
Audience
Undergraduate
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Illustrations 161 Line drawings, unspecified

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 7 May 2009
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

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'.

Reviews

'Nobody, after reading this book, will be able to look at cathedrals in the same way. Erlande-Brandenburg compellingly draws back an opaque Romantic veil and makes an inaccessible world live for a post-Christian age.' Anthony Symondson, The Architectural Review