The formation of English Gothic
Subtitle: architecture and identity
By: Peter Draper.
Publisher: Published for The Paul Mellon Centre for studies in British Art by Yale University Press
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New Haven [Conn.]; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 287
ISBN-13: 9780300120363
Subjects: Architecture, Gothic -- England; Architecture -- England -- French influences
Description: In this original account of architecture in England between c.1150 and c.1250, Peter Draper explores how the assimilation of new ideas from France led to an English version of Gothic architecture that was quite distinct from Gothic expression elsewhere. The author considers the great cathedrals of England (Canterbury, Wells, Salisbury, Lincoln, Ely, York, Durham, and others) as well as parish churches and secular buildings, to examine the complex interrelations between architecture and its social and political functions. Architecture was an expression of identity, Draper finds, and the unique Gothic that developed in England was one of a number of manifestations of an emerging sense of national identity. The book inquires into such topics as the role of patrons, the relationships between patrons and architects, and the wide variety of factors that contributed to the process of creating a building. With 250 illustrations, including more than 50 in color, this book offers new ways of seeing and thinking about some of England's greatest and best-loved architecture. -- Book Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 264-279) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Patrons, masons and saints : Canterbury Cathedral; title: Patronage and the pattern of building; title: Transformation : evolution or revolution?; title: Regional variations; title: Continuity and originality : Lincoln Cathedral; title: Diversity and conformity in the early thirteenth century; title: Architectural ambition in the parish church; title: Architecture and liturgy; title: According to function; title: Towards a 'national' style?