Books about Chartres from Amazon.com

Chartres Cathedral, south of Paris, is revered as one of the most beautiful and profound works of art in the Western canon. But what did it mean to those who constructed it in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? And why, during this time, did Europeans begin to build churches in a new style, at such immense height and with such glorious play of light, in the soaring manner we now call Gothic?

Universe of Stone shows that the Gothic cathedrals encode a far-reaching shift in the way medieval thinkers perceived their relationship with their world. For the first time, they began to believe in an orderly, rational world that could be investigated and understood. This change marked the beginning of Western science and also the start of a long and, indeed, unfinished struggle to reconcile faith and reason.

By embedding the cathedral in the culture of the twelfth century—its schools of philosophy and science, its trades and technologies, its politics and religious debates—Philip Ball makes sense of the visual and emotional power of Chartres. Beautifully illustrated and written, filled with astonishing insight, Universe of Stone argues that Chartres is a sublime expression of the originality and vitality of a true "first renaissance," one that occurred long before the birth of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, or Francis Bacon.

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Price: $11.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

America’s #1 bestselling travel series

Written by more than 175 outspoken travelers around the globe, Frommer’s Complete Guides help travelers experience places the way locals do.

• More annually updated guides than any other series

• 16-page color section and foldout map in all annual guides

• Outspoken opinions, exact prices, and suggested itineraries

• Dozens of detailed maps in an easy-to-read, two-color design

Completely updated every year (unlike most of the competition), Frommer's France features gorgeous color photos of the chateaux, cathedrals, vineyards, villages, and gorgeous countryside vistas that await you. Much more detailed and comprehensive than the major competition, this is simply the most reliable and in-depth guide you can buy. It's personally researched and full of candid opinions. Our authors have chosen the very best places to stay, from the grand hotels of Paris and the chic beach resorts of the Riviera to charming and affordable guesthouses in every provincial town. And of course, we'll make sure that you dine memorably throughout France, whether you're splurging on a world-class restaurant in Paris or looking for a little-known neighborhood bistro that serves all the classics. Wherever you go, you'll rely on Frommer's for authoritative but fun-to-use coverage of all the historic, artistic, and cultural treasures. You'll get a complete shopper's guide, the latest trip-planning advice on everything from bargain airfares to rail passes, and a complete shopper's guide. Frommer's France even features a color fold-out map and map of the Paris Metro!.
Price: $16.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Explores the connection between ancient druidic worship of a virgin at Chartres and the veneration of the Black Madonna

• Examines the Virgin Mary’s origins in the pagan worship of the Mother Goddess

• Identifies Mary with the dominant solar goddess of matriarchal societies

The great cathedral of Chartres is renowned the world over as a masterpiece of High Gothic architecture and for its remarkable stained glass, considered alchemical glass, and its mystical labyrinth. But the sacred foundations of this sanctuary go back to a time long before Christianity when this site was a clearing where druids worshiped a Virgo Paritura: a virgin about to give birth. This ancient meeting place, where all the druids in Gaul gathered once a year, now houses the magnificent Chartres cathedral dedicated both to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and to one of the most venerated Black Madonnas in Europe: Our Lady of the Pillar. Coincidence? Hardly, says Jean Markale, whose exhaustive examination of the site traces Chartres’ roots back to prehistoric times and the appeal of the Black Madonna back to the ancient widespread worship of Mother Goddesses such as Cybele and Isis.

Markale contends that the mother and child depicted by the Black Madonna are descended from the image worshipped by the druids of the Virgin forever giving birth. This image is not merely a representation of maternal love--albeit of a spiritual nature. It is a theological notion of great refinement: the Virgin gives birth ceaselessly to a world, a God, and a humanity in perpetual becoming.

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Price: $4.65 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In this ground-breaking new work, Gordon Strachan explores the magnificent structure of Chartres Cathedral and its influences on the medieval master builders Using Chartres as a starting point, Dr. Strachan shows how the origins of the Gothic style—the pointed arch—may lie in Islamic architecture. He goes on to a fascinating and detailed consideration of how a particular architectural space affects us, and how sacred geometry creates sacred space.

Beautifully illustrated in a large format, this is an inspiring and informative book for anyone interested in religious architecture and spirituality..
Price: $12.22 [Notify me when price goes down.]