Cloisters of Europe: Gardens of Prayer (Religion) [Hardcover]

Veronique Rouchon Mouilleron (Author), Daniel Faure (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2001 | Series: Religion

If the church is said to be the soul of an abbey, the cloister is surely its heart. The cloister, a space secluded—as its Latin derivation suggests—within four galleries is at once a place of peace and a ceaseless crossroads. As the hub of all activity, through which monks progressed from task to task and prayer to prayer throughout the day from matins to vespers, its classic layout inspired some of the most extraordinary and varied architectural treasures of the world. Cloisters of Europe covers the cloister throughout western Europe—Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, and Britain—between the ninth and fifteenth centuries and is a celebration of art and architecture from stark pre-Romanesque to flamboyant late Gothic. With an enlightening introduction to the history of religious orders and their devotional life, it is a magnificently illustrated monument to art, antiquity, and spiritual profundity.

Photographs by Daniel Faure.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author

Véronique Rouchon Mouilleron is professor of medieval art history at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Studio; 1st US Edition, 2001 edition (September 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670030252
• ISBN-13: 978-0670030255
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #608,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning architectural photos, February 27, 2009

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grace is enough (in this place, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cloisters of Europe: Gardens of Prayer (Religion) (Hardcover)

Stunning photos by a brilliant architectural photographer. You can hear the sounds of the monasteries in the photos. Truly a book to just enjoy in peace. Uncluttered by words, the photos speak volumes.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonder & Inspiration, December 2, 2011

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Catherine S. Todd (Oxford NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cloisters of Europe: Gardens of Prayer (Religion) (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book... it just came in the mail and it's one of the best books I've received all year. It is oversize with 192 pages, not "thin" at all, with large full color and full page photos, and appropriate text about the history of monasteries and more.

Most of the book is devoted solely to the photos, so you can study the details and see what made this building technique so long-lasting and special. As described on the cover, The cloister is "the symbol of space at the heart of the universe of silence and mysticism."

You cannot help but be moved when you read these lines.

I have always described some of the work I do as creating a "symphony of silence and sound." I spend a lot of time in the peace and tranquility of the mind, and until now I never considered it "prayer." But perhaps in fact it is.

The sanctuary I have created in my own small world is my own private monastery, and with this incredible book I can now create it in wood and in stone.

The large scale museum-quality photographs show close up details and long view shots from Cloisters all over Europe, including some of the most beautiful in Spain.

The Camino de Santiago awaits. I will begin exploring with this tome, and work to create these beautiful "Gardens of Prayer." I want to live in the space shown on the cover, in a reflection of shadow and sun. What could be more peaceful than this?

I will also look at the book "The Great Monasteries of Europe." I have visited a few and hope to build my own. It will be my crowning glory to donate to the town and my final resting place in silence and sound.

Read more about monasteries on Wikipedia:
Monastery (plural: monasteries) denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer (e.g. an oratory) as well as the domestic ...

From "The Great Monasteries of Europe" (another book I'd like to read):
"In addition to serving as religious refuges, monasteries provided sanctuary for the pursuits of art, education, science and book production."

This is EXACTLY what I'm working towards right now in La Antigua and lovely Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, where hundreds of monasteries were built in the middle ages. Many mission groups come there every day and I seem to have become a small part of it. We will see what the future will bring.

1 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Thin, February 19, 2007

By 

roderick "House of Ussher" (Western NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cloisters of Europe: Gardens of Prayer (Religion) (Hardcover)

I've aready sold the book on - good quality production - but very very thin