Building the Great Cathedrals

Format:

Book

Title:

Building the Great Cathedrals

Uniform Title:

Œuvriers des cathédrales. English

Author:

Icher, François.

ISBN:

9780810940178

9780810982161

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

200 pages : color illustrations ; 32 cm

Contents:

[Table of Contents] -- INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER I: The Age of the Cathedrals -- From the Ecclesia to the Cathedralis -- The First Cathedral Complexes -- The Gothic Age -- The End of the Great Construction-Sites -- From the Cathedral Complex to the Cathedral -- CHAPTER II: Patronage, Financing, and the Workshop Committee -- Different Patrons in Different Countries -- The Question of Financing -- Chapters and Workshops -- CHAPTER III: The Architect -- Obtaining the Commission -- A Man of Many Skills -- The Architect and His Workers -- CHAPTER IV: Before Reaching the Cathedral Construction-Site -- The Quarry -- The Forest -- From the Forge to the Workshop -- CHAPTER V: The Cathedral Construction-Site -- The Stonecutters' Lodge -- The Tracing House -- The Stonecutters, Masons, and Mortar Mixers -- Sculptors and Modelmakers -- Carpenters and the Wood Crafts -- Plasterers, Roofers, and Plumbers -- Blacksmiths and Locksmiths -- Glass Artists and Glassworkers -- Other Crafts Associated with the Cathedral Construction-Site -- CHAPTER VI: The Memory of the Builders -- Memory and History -- The Book of Drawings of Villard de Honnecourt -- The Museum of the Oeuvre Notre-Dame de Strasbourg -- The Companions of the Tour of France -- Freemasonry -- The Texts -- The Regius Manuscript -- The Statutes of Ratisbon -- Regulations Concerning the Companions -- Regulations Concerning the Apprentices -- The Statutes of Saint Michael -- CONCLUSION -- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX -- PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS.

Summary:

"This volume is a study of the people who commissioned, designed, and built the great cathedrals of Europe, from the eleventh through the sixteenth centuries. Historian François Icher has written a lively, detailed account of the process by which these masterpieces of world architecture came to be - from their commissioning by a bishop or wealthy patron, to the hiring of an architect and mastercraftsmen, to the daily labor on the construction site. Icher explains how architects and masterbuilders were selected; how teams of craftsmen were assembled and brought in, often from far away; and he discusses the conditions and terms under which the work was undertaken. Daily schedules are described, as well as contracts, the apprentice system, and the type of work done by stonecutters, masons, sculptors, roofers, and makers of stained glass. He investigates the complex economic issues surrounding the funding of these massive projects, such as how money was raised, and what happened when it ran out and cathedrals or their towers were left unfinished. In addition, Icher draws on the social history of the era, examining such phenomena as the growth of cities in Europe and the expansion and organization of the guilds. Supplementing the author's highly readable narrative are many stories and anecdotes about particular cathedrals and their construction; an appendix of archival documents that furnish additional details about the construction process at various sites; and a bibliography. Building the Great Cathedrals is extensively illustrated with current photographs of many of the structures, with architectural drawings, and with art works such as mosaics and illuminated manuscript pages that depict scenes on the construction site, including craftsmen at work, individual tools and instruments, and symbols and emblems of the guilds and orders." -- Dust Jacket.

Subject(s):

Cathedrals -- History.

Genre:

History

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Salem Main Library	OVERSIZE 726.6 Icher	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Monmouth Public Library	726.6 Icher, F. 1998	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A detailed account of the process by which the great European cathedrals of the 11th to the 16th centuries were built. Icher explains how wealthy patrons funded these projects, how the architects and master builders were chosen, and generally sets the historical and economic scenes of the time.

Reviews (3)

Booklist Review

One of illustrator-author David Macaulay's best children's books on architecture is Cathedral (1981), a demonstration of how such a structure was built. Icher's book, well translated by Zielonka, is a veritable Cathedral for adults, with impressive full-and two-page photos of details of actual cathedrals and reproductions of artworks concerned with cathedrals instead of Macaulay's superb line drawings. Given more and larger pages, Icher explains such aspects of the building process as sponsorship, funding, sources of stone and timber, the roles of the architect and of the workshop committee, the organization of labor, and the documentation left by the cathedral builders (excerpts from some of that documentation are appended). The scholarly Icher is careful to avoid extravagant statements and to debunk myths, such as Freemasonry's claim to be directly descended from the medieval cathedral masons. Consequently, his prose lacks Macaulay's deftness, just as the illustrations lack Macaulay's wit. Icher's book is as stunning as Macaulay's, anyway; indeed, maybe more stunning. --Ray Olson

Choice Review

Icher's book, generously illustrated and fairly short on words, offers brief, generally accurate chapters on the function of cathedrals, their construction, patronage and financing, the role of the architect, the procurement of timber and stone, and the organization of the building site. The final section, on guild organization and the emergence in postmedieval times of a body of esoteric lore and ritual founded on an obscure tradition of masons' secrets, is somewhat more fully fleshed out with original sources in translation. The illustrations largely overshadow the text but are in fact only tangentially related to it. Some, like the splendid full-page view in color of the choir of Albi Cathedral, or a detail from one of the fine drawings for the facade of the cathedral of Strasbourg, compel admiration. Many others convey much that is of interest. But intermingled with these images are modern illustrations, reproductions from 19th-century chromolithographs, a piece of troubadour style, and pageantry by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Instructive general accounts of cathedral building by such authors as Jean Gimpel, Henry Kraus, George Duby, and Alain Erlande-Brandenbourg have already appeared. This new production, lavish as it is superficial, is not in the same league. General readers; professionals. W. Cahn; Yale University

Library Journal Review

The great European cathedrals continue to amaze and delight visitors. With their lacy stonework and the sparkling tracery of their stained glass windows, few structures have been able to hold in thrall their onlookers for so many centuries. In this extensively illustrated work, Icher, a specialist in the history of guilds and European craftsmen associations, traces the origins of the cathedral as an ecclesiastical structure, the elements of patronage involved in financing the construction, and the various workers, from the architect down through quarrymen, stone cutters, glass artists, and sculptors. An extensive bibliography, index, and selections from original documents add to both the general and the scholarly interest of the work. The highlight, however, is the extensive illustration of cathedrals (both photographs and from secondary sources such as manuscripts and paintings). For both young and old who wish a more chronological approach to the construction of cathedrals, the classic work is David Macaulay's Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction (LJ 12/73). Recommended for collections, particularly public libraries, with an interest in art and architecture.Martin R. Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Institution Libs., Arlington, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.