Emma J Wells – författare

This book leads the modern traveller along some of the key medieval walking routes of England, Scotland and Wales, taking in world-famous sites such as Canterbury and Lindisfarne, and out-of-the-way places along paths not so widely travelled. Each route has easy-to-follow directions that guide walkers step by step on a journey of discovery. Illustrated throughout in colour, this practical book provides clear maps and informative commentary on the history of each route, as well as its current landscape, shrines, art and architecture, making this an ideal starting point for those looking for new places to visit. This book offers an understanding of the history, significance and practices surrounding the pilgrim routes and sites of Britain, helping us to follow in the footsteps of our forebears and gain invaluable insights into their medieval world.

A glorious illustrated history of sixteen of the world''s greatest cathedrals, interwoven with the extraordinary stories of the people who built them. ''An impeccable guide to the golden age of ecclesiastical architecture'' The Times ''Vivid, colourful and absorbing'' Dan Jones ''An epic ode to some of our most beautiful and beloved buildings'' Helen CarrThe emergence of the Gothic in twelfth-century France, an architectural style characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, flying buttresses, large windows and elaborate tracery, triggered an explosion of cathedral-building across western Europe. It is this remarkable flowering of ecclesiastical architecture that forms the central core of Emma Wells''s authoritative but accessible study of the golden age of the cathedral. Prefacing her account with the construction in the sixth century of the Hagia Sophia, the remarkable Christian cathedral of the eastern Roman empire, she goes on to chart the construction of a glittering sequence of iconic structures, including Saint-Denis, Notre-Dame, Canterbury, Chartres, Salisbury, York Minster and Florence''s Duomo.More than architectural biographies, these are human stories of triumph and tragedy that take the reader from the chaotic atmosphere of the mason''s yard to the cloisters of power. Together, they reveal how 1000 years of cathedral-building shaped modern Europe, and influenced art, culture and society around the world.

A glorious illustrated history of sixteen of the world's greatest cathedrals, interwoven with the extraordinary stories of the people who built them. 'An impeccable guide to the golden age of ecclesiastical architecture' The Times 'Vivid, colourful and absorbing' Dan Jones 'An epic ode to some of our most beautiful and beloved buildings' Helen CarrA glorious history of sixteen of the world’s greatest cathedrals, interwoven with the extraordinary stories of the people who built them.The emergence of the Gothic style in twelfth-century France, characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, flying buttresses and large windows, forms the central core of Emma Wells’s authoritative but accessible study of the golden age of the cathedral. More than architectural biographies, these are human stories of triumph and tragedy that take the reader from the chaotic atmosphere of the mason’s yard to the cloisters of power. Together, they reveal how 1000 years of cathedral-building shaped modern Europe, and influenced art, culture and society around the world.