The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral

The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral

Surveys great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, exploring why medieval people built Gothic cathedrals, how they built them, how they were inspired by a conception of the divine, and how religious and secular leaders used cathedrals for social and political purposes.

Robert A. Scott

Berkeley : University of California Press

Introduction : a personal journey -- pt. I.A grand undertaking. -- What is the Gothic enterprise? -- How were the cathedrals built? -- pt. II. History. -- Kings, feudal lords, and great monasteries -- The age of cathedral-building -- The initial vision -- "The cathedral crusade" -- pt. III. The Gothic look. -- What is the Gothic look? -- An image of heaven -- A pragmatic view of cathedral-building -- pt. IV. The religious experience. -- Sacred force and sacred space -- Imagining the cathedral -- Honoring the dead -- pt. V. The Gothic community. -- Medieval living conditions -- The spiritual brokers--priests and monarchs -- Cathedrals and community -- Conclusion : learning from Stonehenge.

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