Product Description

MONASTERIES AND MONASTIC ORDERS
2000 Years of Christian Art and Culture

Product Description

This ambitious work traces the history of monasticism from its origins in late antiquity through its apex in the High Middle Ages and into the present. The book explores various religious orders and what makes them unique, and includes short biographies of famous abbots, abbesses, and monastic scholars. It contains a rich combination of history, culture, art and religion that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers

Features:

* More than 700 gorgeous color illustrations bring the architecture, sculpture, and paintings to life.

* Color graphics, maps, and floor plans break down the overwhelming size of a monastery into something easy to handle.

* Special chapters devoted to everyday life in a cloister, medieval book illumination, monastic gardens, and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #398766 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 431 pages

About the Author
Authors

Art historian Kristina Krüger is a specialist in the art and architecture of the Middle Ages. Her research and publications focusing in particular on the relationship between architecture and liturgy make her the ideal author for this book. Contributor Rainer Warland is a professor at the Institute for Christian Archaeology and Art History at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Customer Reviews

much more than a coffee table book!
What a fantastic find! If you have any interest in monasticism or Christian architecture, this is a must have for reading straight through and future (and frequent) reference. One of the largest books in my collection, it weighs in as a hefty book for any coffee table. But its size lends itself perfectly in capturing the massive grandeur of so many of the monasteries of Christendom with full page spreads in rich color and detail. The text itself, without the photos, would also merit the purchase, given its high level of academic detail and nuance. Take a look inside for a sample and begin a journey into the heart of one of the world's most important institutions and guardians of Christian (and Western and Eastern) civilization.

And the amazon price is unbeatable.

Fabulous Book, a real bargain!
If you enjoy archictecture, especially "story-book style architcture", you will love this book. Not only are the photos fabulous, but the book is arranged in a way that you gain a great deal of information on the history of the orders, the development of the regions, and just a great sense of how that part of the world was developed.

I can't think of better large type book than this. You can have hours of fun admiring the detail and artistry of the photos, as well enjoy reading the descriptions of the orders and the properties.