Stunningly illustrated and endlessly illuminative, Wells’ authoritative yet accessible volume on the golden age of the cathedral leads the reader on a fascinating journey through 1000 years of striking ecclesiastical architecture.
A glorious history of sixteen of the world’s greatest cathedrals, interwoven with the extraordinary stories of the people who built them.
The emergence of the Gothic style in twelfth-century France, characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, flying buttresses and large windows, forms the central core of Emma Wells’s authoritative but accessible study of the golden age of the cathedral. More than architectural biographies, these are human stories of triumph and tragedy that take the reader from the chaotic atmosphere of the mason’s yard to the cloisters of power. Together, they reveal how 1000 years of cathedral-building shaped modern Europe, and influenced art, culture and society around the world.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781788541954
Number of pages: 432
Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
An impeccable guide to the golden age of ecclesiastical architecture... Meticulously researched... It's to Wells's credit that she manages to make the history of these cathedrals as gripping as she does. - The Times
Combining scholarship and an eye for human stories, Heaven on Earth is a vivid, colourful and absorbing tour of the greatest buildings the medieval world produced. - Dan Jones
Shines scholarly light on the history of the great cathedrals of Europe and uncovers the wealth of human stories they hold. Rich in animated, erudite and compassionate storytelling about how people in the past expressed spirituality in magnificent physical form... An epic ode to some of our most beautiful and beloved buildings. - Helen Carr
Emma J. Wells has written an accessible, authoritative and lavishly illustrated account of the building of 16 of "the world's greatest cathedrals" - Spectator
Wells brings these buildings vividly to life, peopling them with their authors and sponsors, their triumphs and tribulations, and beautifully illustrated - Country Life
Sumptuously presented... A fascinating look at how people in the Middle Ages combined spirituality, symbolism, mathematics and monumental toil to create some of history's grandest buildings - History Revealed
This beautifully written and impeccably researched book is an utter joy to read, managing to be both academic and yet accessible to the lay reader - Yorkshire Life
Strikingly show[s] the influence these imposing buildings exerted [and] the importance of the people who built these places - History Today
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