Chartres Cathedral - Hb English

This is a superbly executed book on the famous Chartres cathedral, a gothic masterpiece which sits some 50 miles to the south west of Paris. Chartres' reputation (and its geographic proximity to Paris) assure its place as a frequent "day trip" for visitors and tourists to Paris who wish to see one of the apogees of gothic development. If you have the opportunity to visit Chartres, you most certainly will find Miller's text right in Chartres' own bookstore, as the book is truly a work worthy to be sold "on site." That fact alone speaks to the quality of this volume. Miller's text provides a short introduction to the gothic movement, as well as the background of Chartres cathedral itself. But the focus of this book is the stained glass found in the cathedral, with a window-by-window detail of the glass, its date, and the allusions each window makes to the outside world. As such, this makes the book a valuable reference work, because one can follow the story from window to window in a way that would be difficult on-site without many days of time to do so (and using binoculars to help out!). The choice of focusing on the stained glass, rather than other features present in gothic cathedrals is justified: Chartres has some of the oldest and most-intact original stained glass of any cathedral in France, and is perhaps the single item among many others for which the structure is famous. Chartres is what is called a "dark cathedral," meaning that the available light inside the edifice is relatively low, making the interior a difficult place to see the architectural elements. But in such a setting, the stained glass takes on a "glowing" characteristic that is visually dramatic. To have a book so carefully lay out the windows for review is quite an achievement. This is a paperback book done on large-size paper, but the covers and individual pages are of extremely high quality, durable, and glossy finish. The photographic reproductions are first-rate, and the graphic artwork used to present the material is also professionally developed. One flip through the volume and you'll be glad you added it to your library.

No one in the world (and I state that with full confidence) knows more about Chartres Cathedral than Malcolm Miller. What more needs to be said?

No visit to Chartres is complete without taking the tour of the Cathedral's walking encyclopedia Malcolm Miller. Miller's books are fantastic and give a tremendous insight into the history of Chartres and its Cathedral.

Malcolm Miller is the foremost English authority on the cathedral of Chartres. He divides his time between the town of Chartres, where he personally conducts tours, and the rest of the world where he lectures and makes films and videos of the subject. He opens his tours and lectures by commenting that the cathedral is like a library--and we don't just say, "We're going to go to the library today and read all the books". Each tour or lecture consists of a general introduction and focuses on a small part of the stained glass and statuary. The core of the book is a review of the iconography of a selection of the windows and sculpture. In this manner, you learn how to "read the books" in the cathedral, and gain an understanding of the world that produced them. Once you have toured Chartres, either in person or through that other medieval miracle, printing, you will want to return again and again.