The Gothic Cathedral by Otto von Simson - 1964: Origins of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval Concept of Order

This book is in good condition, There is minimal wear on the front, back, edges, and spine of the cover boards. There is no bumping or fraying on the cover boards. The pages are yellowing and tanning, but the pages are clear of any markings.

"What is Gothic? The decisive feature of the new style is not the cross-ribbed vault, the pointed arch, or the flying buttress. All these are constructive means (developed or prepared by pre-Gothic architecture) but not artistic ends. The masters of the Angevin school handle the ribbed vault with a skill that is unsurpassed by their Gothic contemporaries; yet we would not call the great twelfth-century churches of Angers or Le Mans Gothic. Nor is soaring height the most characteristic aspect of Gothic architecture. Whoever has stood in what remains of the great abbey of Cluny - epitome of all that is Romanesque - will have realized that its effect of immense height is the very thing that the Gothic masters, during the first century at least. deliberately abstained from producing. Two aspects of Gothic architecture, however are without precedent and parallel: the use of light and the unique relationship between structure and appearance...." - Chapter One from The Gothic Cathedral