Austin Hall Library

A Beginning Guide to Gothic

Approaching my first Gothic cathedral took my breath away. I had never approached a structure that evoked such an unexpected and moving emotional response. A reference to a good meditation on the architecture and mystical space of a Gothic cathedral can be found here. 

Even if you cannot arrange a visit right away, you can acquire Bernhard Schultz's Great Cathedrals. It is a coffee table book that covers the great  European cathedrals of just about every style, but the Gothic cathedral is the central focus. Given me by a friend, it has become one of my most treasured books. There is an architectural history of each  cathedral and the interior and exterior pictures are phenomenal. An online sketch of the description of a Gothic cathedral I have found beneficial may be found here. Scroll down the page and you will even find a short and helpful vocabulary list. If you can afford only one other coffee table type book (they are expensive), then add Great Monasteries of Europe. You will find there stunning pictures of a number of cloisters in the great monasteries. The picture on the right side of this paragraph is of the cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral in England, where I visited in 2006.

For a comprehensive treatment of the context and history of Gothic cathedrals, I always recommend Otto Georg Von Simson's The Gothic Cathedral. It covers everything from the aesthetic principles of Gothic architecture to the social and political history out of which it emerged. It is a great book and it can be purchased easily in paperback.

There is a great deal of excellent literature available on the design and construction of Gothic cathedrals. Excellent introductory books include The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages and Building the Great Cathedrals. The latter might take a little effort to find, but it is considered by many to be the book on the subject, and it will be more than worth the effort to find it.

The upcoming summer would be a great time to conduct a delightful introductory study of Gothic architecture. Then one would be prepared to plan an introductory visit to some key sites.

Being Ugly Can Lead to Death--If the Ugliness is Found in a City

What is with all the ugly and inhumane urban architecture? It has been around for a while--at least since the policies of the Johnson administration, which in the name of urban "renewal," created urban jungles on a scale previously unparalleled (at least in a time of peace). Few people in the twentieth century seemed to notice the connection between soulless urban planning and riotous boredom, with former Governor of Michigan, George Romney, being a possible exception. In his last address as governor, he declared that the Detroit riots were provoked by "urban renewal and federal highway building." There is more to bad behavior than an ugly apartment and sidewalk, but Romney had a point. There is an architecture of hopeless servitude and boredom. As Russell Kirk said, "One is a good deal safer in Palermo, or Tunis, or Fez, than in New York, or Chicago, or Los Angeles."

Arguably, the book that first began to highlight the failed experiment of modern urban planning is Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Published originally in 1961, the 1993 Modern Library edition is available in hardback for a good price. This is known as a "common-sense" approach to analyzing urban planning, and it is a fascinating read for anyone interested in urban planning, social policies, or an analysis of culture. Jacobs likely did not intend to, but, in my opinion, she vindicated conservative principles and personalism in urban planning.

Whatever the difficulties of ancient towns like Palermo, Tunis, and Fez (and there are some), they  remain genuine communities, in which the residents remain persons, not faceless automatons lost in a crowd. A city is not simply a collectivity; it is a vital continuity with real individual persons, neighborhoods, voluntary associations, old landmarks, historic monuments--the kinds of elements that make persons feel at home. Communities nurture roots, rather than destroying them. They restore and rehabilitate, rather than reconstitute. And, communities focus on the common good, rather than commercial gain. "Urban renewal," conceived by the Johnson administration, rather than being a "war on poverty," was actually a war on the poor, for the benefit of the speculator and the contractor.

But, there are encouraging signs these days. Beginning several years ago in larger cities, the positive signs are spreading to smaller cities and I see them in many places around the country as I travel. In fact, when travel takes me away from home, I look for these areas and take notes for return trips. Neighborhood revitalization projects are rising up, characterized by numerous vibrant and walkable destinations to attractive and peaceful outdoor gathering places, shops, bookstores, restaurants, and coffeehouses. In some cases, cities are even trying to create such person-centered communities where they never existed, down to reproduction architecture. 

If the city fathers do not understand culture and are not careful, however, the reproduction approach may go too far. Civic and cultural restoration must be rooted in long-established customs, habits, and political institutions of a community. No city planner can make people happy through social innovation. It would be imprudent to draw the conclusion that good urban planning was about getting rid of ugly buildings alone.

Art and the Mediation of Belief

E. John Walford's article on "Renaissance Art and the Mediation of Belief" is interesting, but take a look at his description of his daily regimen for six months after graduation from high school (in the article's first paragraph). Looks like a very good way to spend six months reading and reflecting after completing college, or grad school, or upon turning fifty--when one is more likely to be paying attention.