Review by Choice Review
Murray (medieval art history, Columbia Univ.), author of highly respected studies of the great Gothic cathedrals of Amiens, Beauvais, and Troyes, offers in this small volume a compact overview of the phenomenon of Gothic architecture. He begins with three chapters analyzing Gothic as seen through the eyes of contemporary observers and authors writing in the 12th and 13th centuries. Focusing on the works of Villard de Honnecourt Gervase of Canterbury and Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis, Murray presents each in turn, bringing readers up to date regarding varying scholarly opinion on these authors and presenting his own, often new, assessment of what each was trying to accomplish through his writing and what each can tell readers about the men behind the building of the great architectural enterprises of their generation. In part 2, the author asks how and why such great constructions were conceived and undertaken, not just in Northern France but throughout much of Western Europe, and in part 3, he explores their meaning(s) for the men who built them. Although some of Murray's conclusions may be controversial, the discussion they generate can only be beneficial to the continued study of the great Gothic structures of the Middle Ages. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --Elizabeth B. Smith, Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
